Metal Gear Solid: ReGenesis
by blacksand1
Summary: AU: "I won't be felled so easily, brother. That disease won't kill me, and I refuse to let anything else kill me until you've been wiped off the face of the Earth along with The Patriots. This, I swear." Rated for being a MGS Fanfic, R
1. Prologue: Divergence

_Well hello there everyone on Fanfiction dot net~! You might be asking me right now, 'Blacksand1 you sexy beast! Howling at the Moon only ended about a week ago, why are you getting back into Metal Gear Solid fanfiction so soon after your epic has finished?' Because I've had an even MORE epic idea bouncing about in my head from around the middle of Howling's run, and if I put it off any longer I won't get it done. In that vein, you could consider this a spiritual sequel to Howling. This is an AU, and therefore a divergence from the canon. Howling is supposed to connect to that canon, so yeah. So, without further ado, let me present to you Metal Gear Solid: ReGenesis~! It's going to start off slow, but my hope is that it'll take off sooner than later. Alright, I don't own anything, let's roll~!_

_**-Divergence-**_

All was silent on the island of Shadow Moses. Harsh Alaskan wind whistled through the air just to emphasize how empty it was. Nearly all of the living souls capable of breaking that silence had left, and all that remained were corpses. One particular corpse lay facedown in the snow outside the facility; Liquid Snake. The man who had went the farthest to kill Solid Snake and never quite managed it. One of his arms was even slightly outstretched, perhaps still trying to reach his brother even in death.

The corpse's peaceful atmosphere was broken through by the sound of boots crunching through the snow. Revolver Ocelot had joined his fallen comrade outside the building, and he was looking so smug that anyone nearby would've loved to punch that smirk right off his face if they saw it. He was just a few minutes away from twisting his mustache in delightfully corny glee. He stared out at the sunrise for a few seconds before looking down at Liquid; that alone managed to make his smirk widen by a centimeter or more. Under normal circumstances, Ocelot would still be in the role of a loyal comrade to Liquid; but Liquid was dead, nobody was around, and his plans had gone through nigh perfectly (despite the loss of an arm). He deserved a little time to gloat.

"Well, well, well. Look who ended up dead in the very end," Ocelot taunted sarcastically, downright grinning by this point. "Who could've _possibly_ foreseen it, this _terrible failure_? I, for one, had _complete faith in you_. Looks like I was let down. Oh well. It's rather sad, now that I think about it; nobody deserved to succeed more than _you_. I mean, your plan was _brilliant_." Ocelot had to stop there, because he was nearly laughing by this point. He'd never been this happy at the success of a plan before now, and it almost disturbed him in a way.

Ocelot took a few minutes to calm down and reign his desires to gloat and taunt in. If he kept it up, he might develop a habit out of it, and that wouldn't be good for his reputation of seamless betrayal towards everyone and everything, now would it?

Ocelot had enough maniacal glee in him to let out one last taunt, "Well, I can't _possibly_ let that arm of yours go to waste-"

"Touch my arm and I'll rip your other one off."

Ocelot's smirk fell and it fell hard.

His eyes widened and shot over to Liquid's corpse; What. The. HELL. He could've sworn that was Liquid's voice- no. He couldn't possibly have been alive, FOXDIE took him out, _it was impossible_. Ocelot's semi-frightened gaze traveled up to Liquid's head, and he was proven wrong. Liquid had turned his head just so he could glare at Ocelot with at least one eye. That, actually, was one of the most frightening things Ocelot had seen all week. And he dealt with torture, he was used to some really scary things.

After a few seconds, Ocelot was finally able to utter one word: "Liquid?"

"Who the bloody hell else would it be?" Liquid wondered irately, slowly getting to his feet. Ocelot, once again, needed a few minutes to find the words he needed. When things didn't go according to plan for him, it was never a pleasant experience. Especially when that entailed one of your dead 'comrades' coming back to life.

"But you're _dead!_" Ocelot exclaimed, still rather freaked out.

"No, but I _am_ bloody cold," Liquid replied, brushing the snow off of his person. Indeed, Liquid's coat was still inside the facility, and he didn't wear a shirt, so it was no wonder he was cold.

"You faked it?" Ocelot asked, calming down slightly.

"Indeed I did," Liquid replied. "I knew that I couldn't keep fighting here; despite my overarching desire for revenge, I knew that I couldn't get it in this sorry state." Liquid winced right then as he accidentally put pressure on one of the many bruises he had sustained from his fall off of REX. Ocelot almost winced himself; despite the fact that Liquid might as well have been made of iron when it came to killing him, the injuries he had sustained now looked like they'd never really heal. They were that intense.

"So, what are you going to do? You missed your chance to kill Snake, and since the rest of the world considers you dead…" Ocelot didn't really need to continue, since both Liquid and he knew what he meant.

"What other choice do I have besides following you around until I make my own plan?" Liquid wondered, raising an eyebrow. Ocelot would've done a spit-take right then if he were drinking something. _NO_. Liquid could not follow that course of action, he'd ruin all of Ocelot's plans and- no, just no.

"That can't happen, Liquid," Ocelot replied, narrowing his eyes. "I know that you didn't have any plan beyond this place, but I _did_ have plans upon plans laid out in case of failure. They all don't involve you." Liquid narrowed his eyes and closed the distance between himself and Ocelot so that there was barely a foot between them. Ocelot almost shrunk back from Liquid; he valued his personal space quite a bit, and Liquid invading it right after faking his own death wasn't quite something Ocelot enjoyed.

Liquid then asked, "You do realize that your little rant before I decided to tell you I was alive basically told me that you've been plotting against me? You also just told me that you were counting on the death of everyone but yourself and for this endeavor to end in failure. Leave me on my own, and I _will_ find a way to take you down. If you keep me with you, you can accurately find a way to deal with me. And you can keep me under the surveillance of them, or whoever it is you really work for. It's a lot less dangerous for you to keep me with you, since I can be quite the inconvenient enemy to have."

Ocelot frowned; Liquid was right in theory, he supposed. Despite the fact that Liquid hadn't come up with a very good plan for the Shadow Moses incident, Liquid could be quite the adversary if provoked. In fact, Ocelot was quite certain that Liquid wouldn't have any trouble snapping his neck right now, despite his injuries. However, keeping Liquid around… He would undoubtedly prove to be more of a liability than an asset, but did he really have any other choice? Liquid arched an eyebrow and folded his arms across his chest, getting somewhat impatient.

Ocelot finally said, "Fine. But this _won't_ be permanent, get it?"

"I never had the impression that it was," Liquid replied. Ocelot's frown deepened, and he began to walk towards the horizon, but something occurred to him and he turned back.

"Liquid, are you alright? Mentally?" Ocelot asked. He had no idea why he had asked that, but he had asked it, and now he was waiting for an answer. Liquid actually hesitated for a few seconds, a flicker of some emotion Ocelot couldn't easily describe flitting through his eyes.

Liquid then replied with the same irate contempt as always, "Let's see, nearly everyone I considered to be a friend is dead along with my fiancée, the only living one of those friends turned out to be plotting against me, I couldn't get my revenge on my brother because of my own failures, and now I have to depend on the traitorous comrade because I have no plan and nowhere to go. Let's not forget that because of my species as a human, I'm blaming myself for all of this. Of course I'm not alright, but there's no time for me to really deal with that or accept it. Come on, let's get out of this wasteland." Liquid walked ahead of Ocelot, not looking back at his former comrade. Ocelot narrowed his eyes, pulled out his cell phone, and called an encrypted number as he followed after Liquid.

"Sir, there's been a complication…"


	2. Chapter 1: Failed Break

_LAST TIME (yes, I'm doing that for this one), Liquid un-caught the dead, Ocelot freaked out, and they decided to be roomies. ALRIGHT, LET'S GET THE BALL SEMI-ROLLING. I own nothing but minor/major OCs who have yet to appear and all the story/design changes, along with the prison that shows up here. I'm sorry if its layout makes no sense. I also don't own Starbucks. If I did, things would be quite different… NAMELY, JESUS-FLAVORED COFFEE-*shot* Ahem. _

_**-Failed Break-**_

"OCELOT!" Liquid stormed out of the kitchen, pissed as all hell. "How the HELL did you drink all the coffee?"

"You don't need it, you've been asleep for ten hours!" Ocelot snapped back, looking away from the computer screen and glaring daggers at- he didn't like to use this term to describe Liquid, but there was no other term that fit better- his roommate.

"Yes, but the previous day I was awake for ten times that!" Liquid snapped back.

"You're such a liar! And besides, why should I surrender all my coffee to the guy sleeping on my couch?"

"Bloody-! Fuck this, I'm going to a Starbucks."

This was how every morning for the past month and a half went in Ocelot's apartment. Liquid would get up, the two men would argue about something- it didn't really matter what it was- for however long, then Liquid would storm out of the apartment. Oddly enough, whether the argument was about coffee or ceiling tiles (you REALLY don't want to know the details of that one), Liquid would _always _claim he was going to Starbucks. Ocelot was certain that the Brit had an addiction to the generic coffee.

Ocelot wasn't very happy about Liquid crashing on his couch, but Liquid wasn't pleased about the situation either. Ocelot was the last person on Earth he ever wanted to live with. Besides the morning argument, Liquid attempted to speak to his former comrade as little as possible and immersed himself in trying to find old contacts and figure out what the hell he was going to do next. That was probably the worst part of all this, not knowing what to do…

About a half hour after Liquid had stormed out and satisfied his addiction to generic coffee, he stood on the roof of some building whose purpose he was unsure of; he _had _gotten on the roof by climbing up the fire escapes, after all. He had a feeling that his method would've taken an hour if he wasn't cloned from Big Boss, but that was neither here nor there. Liquid stared neutrally out at the city, then glanced up at the cloud-filled sky. It looked like it would rain soon… Right as he thought that, a small drop of precipitation fell on his nose.

"Convenient," Liquid muttered, raising an eyebrow. He then turned to the fire escape a few minutes before a young woman hopped onto the roof off the last fire-escape ladder. She was fair haired and fair skinned with large black eyes, and seemed to have a blank expression on her face at all times. Any casual observer marked her as deftly harmless and somewhat cute, while in actuality she got her kicks by spying on the Pentagon (more likely the Patriots) for anyone who payed her enough and stabbing people with butterfly knives.

"Hey Liquid," she said in a monotone, walking over to him and stopping right beside him. Liquid allowed himself a polite smirk as he made a mental note of the time; she was never late.

"Good morning, Regina," Liquid replied. His contact spared a small smile of her own; she was glad Liquid didn't seem _too _irreparably damaged on the outside that he wouldn't be able to pay her for her information.

Regina turned and looked out at the cityscape before remarking, "New York is damn cold around this time of year."

"Ocelot compares it to Russia when he's feeling especially cynical," Liquid replied. "I rather like it, but he's dead set on ruining it for me."

"Must suck crashing on _his _couch."

"You have no idea."

Regina decided to mentally skip around the emotional baggage connected to that statement while Liquid wallowed in it silently. The amount of hatred he had saved up for Ocelot nearly rivaled the amount he directed at his brother and father, and yet he had to depend on him. Thinking about it made him want to murder small animals. And big ones.

"… Anyways," Regina continued, attempting to bring them both back to the reason they were here, "Looks like Ocelot was able to get the blueprints and launch data for REX out on the black market. Anyone who can afford all that good stuff is making their own REX derivatives, and some people've succeeded by this point."

"I already knew _that_," Liquid said pointedly, giving Regina half a glare.

"I know, I'm just givin' you a kinda setting here," Regina replied with her own glare. "The Marines jumped on that after a REX derivative killed a bunch of their guys over in Iraq. They're starting on making a whole new kind 'a Metal Gear to go toe to toe with those things. They haven't decided on a codename, but I do know that it's got two kinds of anti-whatever missiles, machine guns, and maybe some kind 'a laser to go with it all. Oh- and it's gonna be amphibious, but with the Marines that's a given. That's all I got."

Liquid genuinely smirked, definitely _very_ interested by this new development; "Do the Patriots want it for themselves?"

"Indeed they do, but I have no idea why just yet," Regina replied. She absently pulled out her butterfly knife and messed around with it, opening and closing it with a flourish over and over and over. Liquid put a hand to his chin and pondered that last point for all of five seconds before he realized that the Patriots worked on their own definition of logic that was set down by a very unstable man, coming to the conclusion that he wouldn't be able to discern their reasons for anything- let alone the desire for a shiny new Metal Gear- without going (fully) insane himself.

"Anything else?" Liquid asked. Regina shook her head and made her way back to the fire escape to leave without a word, but she paused for a second.

"Liquid… I'm really sorry about your fiancee," Regina muttered. She didn't turn around, because she knew she had said the wrong thing. Liquid didn't breathe for about a second at the mention of Sniper Wolf… Ferishteh… Liquid shook his head vigorously, trying to clear it of the image of her bleeding out in the snow. He didn't have time to think about her, about Shadow Moses, he had to keep moving.

A few hours later, Ocelot finished up his nigh-daily call to Sergei Gurlukovich when Liquid climbed back in through the window. Though this was another daily occurrence within the apartment, it never ceased to make Ocelot give Liquid a strange look.

"I know it's been a month and a half and I _should _be used to this, but why is it that you only leave through the door and come in through the window?" Ocelot asked, closing the window as Liquid leapt from the window sill to the couch and landed perfectly.

"Because I can," Liquid replied. "Would you like me to switch it around?"

Ocelot actually pondered that for a second before replying, "Actually, I am kind of used to your current method; don't switch it up." Liquid nodded with a small smirk, but that smirk was erased several second later when he heard a buzzing sound that coincided with his own cell phone being thrown at his forehead.

"Oi, it's that one contact chick of yours," Ocelot said.

Before opening his phone, Liquid asked, "Why did _you _have my cell phone?" Ocelot raised an eyebrow, which was Ocelot for 'your puny brain couldn't possibly comprehend my AMAZING reasons for anything, so I'm not going to explain it… Bow before me'. This pissed off Liquid immediately, which lead to him leaping up and punching Ocelot as hard as he could in the face. This was hard enough to knock the older Russian right out. Liquid nodded deftly before opening his phone and reading the text Regina left.

_"I decided to look into Naomi Hunter's whereabouts for you. I figured out what prison she's in, the name and layout are attached to this message. Do with that what you will." _Liquid stared at this message for a few minutes (and thanked God that both his and Regina's phones were encrypted to the nth degree) before replying.

_"Thank you." _He moved on to looking at the attached image of the prison layout with a blank face. He wasn't entirely sure what to do with _this _piece of information. He could break Naomi out, but could he really afford to? He was off the Patriots' radar, due to reasons of being 'dead', but if he staged a prison break they might do some digging and find out he was the one who sprung Naomi out. And besides, she made FOXDIE; that disease had killed Octopus, and anything that killed his people was definitely evil. But could he really just leave her there? She was a scientist following orders, not a hardened criminal. Being in prison was definitely _not _something Naomi was trained for. Since he had this information, he couldn't just do _nothing _with it. And then there was the obvious factor that Wolf had been almost like a surrogate mother to her…

The battle in Liquid's head between cold reason and irrational emotion raged for about a minute before irrational emotion cut the head off of cold reason and won the match. Liquid immediately sent a follow-up message to Regina.

_"Can you get more a more detailed blueprint for this place? I need to know the security measures, among other details." _

Regina immediately replied; _"That's nothing I can't handle, so sure." _Ocelot decided to stop being unconscious right then, getting up and glaring daggers- hell, full on _broadswords_- at Liquid.

"If I weren't suffering severe head trauma right now, I'd kill you," Ocelot growled. Liquid just nodded, not all that concerned, and hijacked Ocelot's computer to start researching the prison while waiting for Regina to send him the extra schematics. Ocelot looked over his shoulder, now a little more perplexed than angry.

"What's in that prison that's so goddamn important that you had to steal my computer? … Again?" Ocelot asked. This, the thievery of computers, actually _wasn't_ something that happened often in this little, non-homosexual home; Liquid had his own laptop computer, but once every now and again Liquid would just hijack Ocelot's computer. Sometimes he actually made excuses as to why, but most could tell that he just did it to mess with the old Russian.

"First of all, it's not a _what_, but a _who_," Liquid clarified, "And that _who _is one Doctor Naomi Hunter." Ocelot's eyebrows shot up; looks like their plans _did _overlap somewhere…

"Don't tell me you're going to break her out?" Ocelot questioned further, semi-disbelieving.

"Indeed I am," Liquid replied simply.

"Liquid, for once, I'm actually going to try and prevent you from doing something stupid," Ocelot declared. "Bothering to help _her_- the person partially responsible for killing your team- is gonna make getting _your _life back on track even more difficult than it already is, it's not worth the risk."

Liquid actually decided to look at Ocelot right then before remarking, "I'm not doing this for any logical reason. Sure, Naomi developed FOXDIE, but knowing her as well as my fiancee did, I can ascertain that she did it under some level of duress. She's been a consistent ally when it mattered, and she's been a friend. I'm not going to let her rot in prison because the Patriots want to cover up their involvement. That being said, she's also an asset, being intelligent and capable in her own right and perfectly able to help me re-strategize. So I'm snatching her up before anyone else does."

Ocelot pondered that for a good long while, then said duplicitously, "Eh, I didn't hate Naomi as much as I hated the rest of you, so I guess I'll help you out if you ask."

"Don't be surprised if I ask you to act as canon fodder," Liquid replied before a revolver round whizzed past his head and buried itself in the wall right next to the computer monitor. Now _this_- people shooting at each other- happened often in the Liquid Ocelot household, and the neighbors were more than used to it.

The next day, Liquid actually didn't leave the apartment; he was too busy forming his plan to break Naomi out to leave. He was studying the schematics for hours on end, searching for blind-spots, researching the inmates, and hacking into security camera feeds. He had a basic but effective plan laid out in his head involving lots and lots of chaos. Oh yeah, and he figured out that the prison was basically run by the Patriots, but that was nothing. Liquid refused to eat that whole day, which eventually culminated in Ocelot tackling him and shoving the nutrients down his throat. This actually happened more often than most people would assume. … Anyways, though Liquid didn't leave the apartment, that didn't stop him from communicating with his one outside contact, Regina Taylor…

_"No. I refuse," _Regina responded to Liquid's last text message. Liquid frowned; that was the quickest she had ever responded, which said quite a bit.

_"Come on, Regina! At the moment, you're the only woman I know who can pull this off," _Liquid pressed.

_"I do information retrieval ONLY. Undercover PERSON-retrieval is not in my job description," _Regina 'snapped'.

_"Regina, you're the only person I can trust with this," _Liquid insisted.

_"I'm sorry, Liquid, but I WILL NOT DO THIS. MY CAPSLOCK ACCENTUATES THE FACT THAT I WON'T DO THIS," _Regina said firmly.

The next day, Regina found herself in prison. Specifically, she found herself in the same prison as Naomi Hunter in the mess hall of that prison with a guard's uniform on under her prisoner's uniform, and she really _really hated _Liquid right now. She was sitting between two women who were two different kinds of undesirable, and one of them was eyeing her like a piece of meat. She glared at the nearest security camera; Liquid had confirmed through a Codec call before she had infiltrated the institution that he'd be watching the entire time through the security camera feed, so she was taking this opportunity to non-verbally tell him that there would be words once this was over.

Regina took a deep breath and looked over to the northernmost exit from the mess hall, which opened into the A-wing of the prison. That wing held mostly women who had killed people in varying quantities, and strangely (at least, it was strange to Regina) it was considered a minimum security wing. Directly across from it was the B-Wing, which was even lower security, had slightly less dangerous inmates (who were basically in there for defying the authoritah of the Patriots) and where Naomi was being held. The only direct line from the A wing to the B wing was a bridge that connected the roofs of the two buildings together, and between them was nothing but empty space… except for C-Wing, which was between them both, maximum security, and housed inmates more dangerous than murderers and less dangerous than abominations of humanity.

Regina then scanned the mess hall; nearly all of these prisoners were from the A or B wings, there were more guards than you could shake a stick at, and Naomi was nowhere to be seen. Which made sense, since the intel both she and Liquid had procured stated that, unless she was under duress, Naomi _never left her cell_. In fact, she barely even moved when inside it. The scientist was _not _built for prison, that much was clear. Regina glanced up at the clock on the wall, and rested her face in her hand so she could covertly call Liquid over her bootlegged-Codec. She grimaced as it went through all the encryptions both she and Liquid had placed on their frequencies; she _hated _using Codec, it was just plain unnatural.

Liquid picked up; "Yes?"

"Can I start this? I'm getting bored and one of the women next to me looks like she really wants to do strange things to me," Regina snapped, shuddering afterwards at the thought of the strange, strange, _strange _things that the other woman probably wanted to do.

"One minute more, Regina," Liquid replied. "_Then _you can start it." Regina signed off and refrained from scowling; Liquid hadn't told her every little detail here, so she didn't know why it had to be in one more minute. She decided to count the seconds in her head, her dark eyes closed to almost make the seconds move faster. She had developed a habit of this when she was a kid, since impatiently whining about how bored she was always ended with her mother giving her the death glare, which would shut the pale little child that she had been right up. It worked remarkably well even then, and it worked as well as ever now. In fact, in what felt like two seconds, fifty-seven had already passed…

_Fifty-eight._

_Fifty-nine._

_Sixty._

_Let's go_.

Regina opened her eyes and got to her feet cracking her neck and knuckles before turning to the woman who had been staring at her this whole time. Regina grinned her best serial killer-grin before punching the woman square in the face, grabbing her while she was still dazed, and throwing her across the mess hall; she smashed into a guard, luckily enough.

"I had no idea I could throw that far," Regina remarked with a proud grin before dodging a punch from a hulking woman and kicking her into the nearest available prisoner, who retaliated against _her_ by kicking her in the gut, and that set the entire mess hall ablaze in a riot; women were punching each other, throwing each other, shivving each other, and throwing guards out the window, stealing their sidearms in the process.

Regina ducked through the crowd, hoping that her extremely pale skin and almost white hair wouldn't be that recognizable in the heat of a riot, and made her way into the A-Wing before most everyone else. She had to get to the B-Wing before this spread. Although, as she got farther up into the building, Regina could hear the shouts of the growing riot and ascertained that she would not succeed in this task with any ease.

Regina found herself nearly falling over herself and face-planting when she finally reached the roof, but she didn't let that stop her. Regina quickly scanned the roof, then ran for the left edge of the building, only stopping when she had nearly fallen off. This was the _only _blind spot in the entire prison's security camera network, and the only place where she could shed her bright orange jumpsuit to reveal her dark gray guard uniform; Regina doubled back and made it to the bridge as the rioting crowd of inmates worked their way ever closer (and some even spilled out onto the ground below), praying to the God she didn't believe in unless believing in him was convenient for her at the time (which it just happened to be) that Liquid had done something to the security footage so that nobody would recognize her as the prisoner that just ran off-frame several seconds ago.

"You're doing great, Regina," Liquid called over the Codec, "You should be able to get to Naomi before the rioters do, at this rate!"

On the secont-to-top floor of the B Wing, Naomi Hunter was huddled into a ball in the corner on the farthest right wall of her cell, staring at something on the other side of the room with horror. What was she staring at? Oh, nothing that notable, just her former cell mate hanging dead from the ceiling by a makeshift noose (Naomi wasn't entirely sure what it was made from), the standard for prisons like this. Naomi shut her eyes tight and rocked back and forth- this was yet another reason as to why she _hated _prison, and she had quite a few; on her first official day in the prison she had nearly gotten raped! She missed Wolf, Wolf would always look out for her…

"Naomi, don't think about that," Naomi muttered to herself, "Nobody's coming to get you-" Right then a female guard with nearly white hair and extremely pale skin coupled with large dark eyes came barreling down the hallway at breakneck speed. Naomi blinked a few times in surprise; there were barely any female guards, and this one didn't look familiar. And she was running; why was she running? What was going on? Right as the strange guard skidded to a halt outside her cell, Naomi could hear a dull roar coming from directly above _and _below her… That probably had something to do with it.

Once the pale-haired guard had regained her composure from all that running, her eyes were immediately drawn to Naomi's late cellmate. All was silent as all the eyes in the area shifted between the corpse, the guard, and Naomi. When the dull roar began to increase in volume, the pale-haired guard regained her focus.

"You're Naomi Hunter, right?" she asked. Naomi nodded deftly.

The guard let out a sigh of relief and grinned; "Good. Listen up: I'm not really a guard. My name is Regina Taylor, and one Liquid Snake sent me to break you out. There's a riot going on right now that's spreading fast, so we gotta move." Naomi's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates; _Liquid Snake? _All the intel they received at the end of Shadow Moses pointed to his death, by FOXDIE no less! How could he be alive and sending someone to break her out? Right now, that really didn't matter; the important thing was that someone was breaking her out of this hell hole!

Regina unlocked her cell door and opened it, prompting Naomi to actually _move _for the first time in about a day by jumping to her feet and running to stand even with Regina.

"Come on, let's go!" Naomi exclaimed, ever so eager to do just that. Regina nodded and grabbed Naomi's wrist before booking it down the hall. They didn't get far; as soon as they were close to the stairwell, a small group of inmates surged up and blocked their path. The largest of the women stepped forward with a grin that would even make Satan slightly uneasy.

"When did _you _find time to steal a guard's uniform?" she asked, cocking an eyebrow. Regina bit her lip; _dammit! _She _had _been recognized, this was _bad_.

"Y'know, the bitch you knocked out was friend 'a mine, used to hook me up with all kinds 'a drugs before we were put away. I'm not gonna go easy on you," the inmate continued before she apparently noticed something cowering behind Regina. "Well shit, looks like you decided to break out the lab rat. What, are you two dykes for each other or something?" As the other inmates around her howled with laughter, Naomi and Regina decided not to give the burly woman an answer to satisfy her.

The woman spun the length of pipe she was holding before continuing, "Eh, really doesn't matter."

Regina whipped out her knife and said sternly, "Naomi, you'll have to find your own way out."

"Wh-what?"

"Just go! Hide, escape, I don't care. Just don't get hurt."

"Regina, what are you _doing_?" Liquid exclaimed over the CODEC while Naomi scrambled away to find somewhere to cower.

"This plan is a bust, Liquid," Regina replied as the inmates charged her, "I can't save your girl… Sorry about that. For what it's worth, if I weren't working with you, I think we could be friends. Bye."

"REGINA-!" Her CODEC switched off, and immediately Regina stabbed the forefront inmate right in the throat. Liquid stared at the footage of his plan slowly going to hell with wide, blank eyes; he watched as Naomi scrambled into a supply closet and huddled there, so very confused and scared and feeling like she was twelve years old and scared of everything again. He watched Regina fight her way through the inmates and getting slowly overrun. He watched the riot get quickly squelched by the guards, who were trained far better than Liquid had anticipated. He watched as the guards saved Regina from almost certain death just to drag her into an interrogation room. He watched them break her while everything was put back together, watched as she tearfully and painfully betrayed both him and Naomi. He watched as they rooted out Naomi and dragged her down to solitary confinement, Naomi solemn the whole way.

At first, he felt hollow shock and frustration.

_Crack._

But then, he analyzed the situation and realized that this was _his _failure. He had failed _again_, and his only allies had payed for it.

_Crack._

It was exactly like what happened on that cold, desolate island…

_Crack._

Right then, everything, all his guilt, rage, sorrow, all of it came crashing down on him.

_Shatter._


	3. Chapter 2: Gathering Resolve

_LAST TIME, Liquid and Ocelot engaged in domestic squabbles, Liquid loved Starbucks, Regina was all like WAZZAAAP, Liquid decided it was Naomi-Saving-Time, Regina went to prison, plans failed epically, and Liquid caught the blue screen of death. Now, before we begin, I'd like to point something out. I decided that Shadow Moses took place in October of 2005 and intended for this current part of the story to be happening in mid-December, 2005. However, I just recently learned that Shadow Moses took place in _February _of 2005. Therefore, since this is a month and a half after Shadow Moses, this actually should be taking place in _April_. My response to this continuity error? … SCREW YOU KOJIMA, YOU DIDN'T MAKE IT EASY TO FIND THIS OUT, SO I'M MAKING MY OWN GODDAMN INFERENCES ABOUT THE TIME. Second, there's a cameo in here of a character from another video game. Guess which game she hails from correctly, and you get internet cookies :D And lastly, I apologize for using Canadian stereotypes in jest, my Canadian compatriots. I own zip, let's go. _

_**-Gathering Resolve-**_

It had been exactly thee hours since Liquid's plan had fallen through. Three hours since Naomi had been placed in solitary confinement and Regina had been given a cell of her own down there while the Patriots debated what to do. The only upside that Regina hadn't admitted that it was Liquid specifically who sent her to break out Naomi. Now would be a perfect opportunity to double back and reconfigure one's strategy…

However, Liquid was doing no such thing. In fact, he hadn't even moved from the spot in front of Ocelot's computer; he had barely moved at all. Ocelot had taken the liberty of turning off the security camera feed, but that hadn't made Liquid budge in the slightest. Ocelot winced- it was actually kind of disturbing, seeing Liquid like this. Liquid had been moving nigh-constantly this past month and a half, almost like sitting still for a moment would kill him, so seeing him perfectly motionless was kind of surreal.

_And _it was aggravating. Ocelot frowned; he had work to do, and he had a feeling that moving Liquid out of the way physically wouldn't be possible. His frown turned into a scowl. Did this mean he'd have to give Liquid some kind of bullshit speech? For the second time in his life, he actually wished Sniper Wolf was here. She was an expert in dealing with Liquid- he had a feeling she might've had to handle a situation like this before her death…

"You picked the _perfect _time and place to completely stop functioning, Liquid," Ocelot remarked sarcastically. That remark had been mostly directed at himself, which caused him to jump slightly a minute later when Liquid muttered something almost impossible to hear in response.

Ocelot immediately got curious, so he prompted him with a, "What?"

"I've failed. Again," Liquid muttered in a slightly louder tone, "Every time I try to go up against them, the people I care about pay the price. It was that way in Shadow Moses. I tried to challenge the Patriots, and they planned months in advance for my failure. And they planned right. Octopus died, Mantis died, Raven died, Wolf… I got my own _fiancee_ killed. And the only people who survived were those who least deserved to. All of this was my fault… Wolf told me that in the heat of battle you couldn't let any of the losses get to you, and you had to keep moving… I miss them, Ocelot. Especially her. They were my friends, my family. I loved Wolf more than anything!" His shoulders began to shake, and his breathing began to hitch; Ocelot looked away- Liquid had lost everything, he deserved to keep at least his dignity. "And now she's gone, and I'm responsible. _My _plan failed, _my _attempts for revenge on both Snake and the world got her and the others killed. How am I supposed to 'keep going' without them? How am I supposed to 'keep going' when whatever I do ends in failure?"

Ocelot contemplated both what Liquid had said and his options of what to say next, taking several minutes, before he asked, "That does make it easier, doesn't it?" Liquid looked over his shoulder with a slightly more puzzled version of his semi-default expression of misery.

"What makes what easier?" Liquid wondered in a tone a lot sharper than Ocelot had expected.

"Blaming yourself for everything," Ocelot replied.

"How would that make _anything _easier?" Liquid snapped, turning all the way around and glaring straight on at Ocelot. Ocelot pushed down a smirk; looks like he wasn't as unresponsive as he thought.

Ocelot shot back with, "Well, if you blame yourself for screwing everything up, you're not going to try to make things right when the opportunity presents itself. You're gonna think something like, 'Oh, no, I messed everything up before; The only way I can help _anyone _is by staying out of it- that's all a worthless person like me can hope to do'. That's a big damn lie and you know it. You're just running away like a coward, because you _might _fail again. You're not helping anyone, you're just digging yourself and everyone involved even deeper into their own graves. You're the only one who's going to get them out of there. Now, Liquid, what I'm about to say I say as a 'friend' (using the loosest possible definition of friend): Stop being a _bitch _and grow some stones! You're better than this, you know that, I know that, Naomi knows that, Wolf knew it. You need to get out of this slump you're in, get your shit together, and get to saving those girls _as a start! _Who's going to take out the Patriots if you're wallowing in self-pity for the rest of your life, anyway?"

Liquid's previously blank face split into a large, almost sinister-looking grin. Ocelot almost recoiled at that.

"That's right, _them_," Liquid muttered, "They got pushed to the back of my mind, I can't believe it! I mean, who else but me actually knows about them? Who else but me actually _wants _to stop them? I can't leave it to Snake to deal with, of course not! He's content to let _anyone _tell him what to do! … Ah, yes, that's right. Snake!" Liquid's grin reformed into a snarl. "My old reason for revenge against that bloody _wanker_ seems so _trivial _now, now that he _killed them_. He killed FOXHOUND, he killed Wolf… Yes, I have to deal with him personally. I can't just wallow in my own self-pity and wait for him to blow his brains out as an old man! I need to defeat him- no, I'm the only one who can." Liquid got to his feet and strode into the center of the room, giving Ocelot the opportunity to steal back his chair; he kept watching, however, since Liquid's little tirade was definitely entertaining to say the least. "And after I've given him what he deserves for killing them all, I'll take _them_ on, I'll take them _out_. I'll track them down and kill them in the most agonizing ways I can think of. I'll destroy them, for FOXHOUND, for everyone!"

"And forming Outer Heaven will help you do that," Ocelot 'casually' remarked, really seizing the moment to see what Liquid was planning so he could counteract it or use it for his own gain.

Liquid looked over his shoulder at Ocelot, his snarl now replaced with a smirk whose tone was best described by what he said next: "You'll have to wait and see." Liquid then turned all they way around, smiling genuinely for a brief moment.

"Even though you only got me out of my slump for your own selfish reasons, I have to thank you for doing so, Ocelot," Liquid commented. Ocelot tried to keep his eyes from widening a fraction; he could barely remember the last time someone had genuinely _thanked _him… And then they widened in shock as Liquid casually walked back over and pushed Ocelot plus the swivel chair he was sitting on out into the center of the room before going back to the computer and standing as he pulled up the schematics for the prison again.

"Don't think you're done helping me, though," Liquid finished looking back at Ocelot with a grin that was a happy medium between his psychotic grin and normal smile. Ocelot scowled deep and shot at Liquid, who dodged it carelessly. It ended up in the wall yet again. Ocelot settled for grumbling unhappily to himself in the myriad of languages he knew; but hey, at least Liquid wasn't _moping _in front of his computer. Liquid spent the next few hours in front of that computer, though now he was being productive. He memorized the location of every security camera, the location of every prisoner, the route of every guard, and- most importantly- the location of Naomi and Regina's cells. He was going to break them out, and he was going to do it alone. Well, _mostly _alone.

After those several hours, the clock struck midnight. All was dark around Sturluson Women's Prison (Liquid actually just found out that that was the name of the prison the minute he went back to planning), but that didn't hinder the two, relatively unstable and definitely criminally inclined men standing right outside the border between public and prison property… which wasn't very well defined, since it was in the middle of nowhere. Liquid was smirking out of control, while Ocelot was scowling deeper than he had been several hours ago.

"Well, this is it~!" Liquid chirped, looking a lot more chipper than he had any right to be. For this reason, Ocelot's glare intensified.

"Just tell me what I'm supposed to do and get this over with," Ocelot growled.

Liquid nodded before saying, "Well, you've done the first part, which is getting me here. The second part is finding some vehicle that can get me, Regina and Naomi out of here quickly; something like a helicopter is preferable."

"This place has helicopters?" Ocelot wondered, raising an eyebrow in puzzlement.

"It has everything," Liquid replied. "But anyway, we'll meet up on the roof."

"Just remember that you owe me for this," Ocelot remarked before he asked, "How are you going to get those two out, anyway?"

Liquid scratched his chin in thought before replying, "My plan is as follows: Sneak in, grab them, sneak out."

Ocelot stared at him with a blank face before deadpanning, "That's the worst plan I've ever heard- no, that's _barely _a plan."

Liquid grinned wide and retorted, "Since when have heroes needed plans~?"

"Oh, so now you think you're a _hero_? I didn't know you were _that _egotistical," Ocelot scoffed, glaring venomously enough that- if Liquid were a lesser man- the recipient of said glare might actually get physically poisoned if on the end of it for too long.

Liquid let out a chuckle and replied, "Well, I'm saving two beautiful women who were wrongly imprisoned from the clutches of an evil organization bent on world domination. Doesn't that sound like typical heroic behavior to you?" Ocelot's glare lessened in intensity, and he let out a small 'hmm' in agreement. He still thought Liquid was being disgustingly egotistical about this whole thing, but it really wasn't his problem.

"Whatever, just don't die. If you die, I'll kill you," Ocelot snapped. Liquid nodded in the affirmative before going across the borderline and onto prison grounds. Liquid didn't stop for a second as a ran the prison layout through his mind again, and he shot directly over to the left side of the building, gluing himself to the wall until he was a few meters away from the one door on that side of the building. He frowned; there was a guard standing directly outside it and a security camera right above it. There was also a light right next to the camera, the only illumination on that entire side of the building (since there weren't any windows for inside light to escape out of). Liquid pulled out his pistol as he contemplated the order in which to take them out. Once he decided, Liquid crept slightly closer and shot the security camera down. Immediately the noise and shower of shrapnel alerted the guard, but Liquid was quick to shoot down the light, leaving the guard as good as blind until her eyes adjusted. Liquid took what little time he had to zip behind her, grab her in a headlock and break her neck.

Liquid tried the door with one hand while still holding the guard's body with his other arm, and he wasn't surprised to find it locked. He did a very quick search of the guard's corpse to find the keys to that door, and once he found them he slipped inside with the body in tow, since he'd probably find a better hiding place for it in there than if he just left it. He made sure to lock the door behind him before looking around at where he had come in; it looked like a storeroom, which he only ascertained from the staggering amounts of boxes in the room. He took out the two security cameras in the room from the blind spot against the door, then unceremoniously ditched the dead woman behind a stack of box, and was about to leave the room without looking back… When he saw a perfectly good, empty, cardboard box just lying there. Liquid grinned wide enough to split his face in two. He immediately got inside the box and shuffled out of the room to get some more detailed information on the next area he'd be sneaking through.

Right outside of this storeroom was the first floor of the A-Wing of the prison; Liquid had to stifle a curse at what he saw. All of the cells were occupied and they went from end to end of the building, stacked on top of each other to the ceiling. There weren't even proper ceilings separating the floors of this building, just steel catwalks and stairs. There were no walls or other constructs he could hide behind in the space in between the walls of cells; no, it was just empty air and concrete floor. There were more guards than he could shake a stick at, and there were twice as many security cameras… And the next door he needed to go through was on the northern end of the building.

"Judging from the position of this room, I'll have to go through at least half of the guards and half of the security cameras to get to the C-wing door," Liquid grumbled. "There is absolutely no way to sneak through this place." Liquid let out a sigh, then continued to shuffle along in his box. He maintained that he might as well do this until he got discovered. He was able to go for a bizzarely long time before a guard spotted him.

"This thing always works like a charm," Liquid remarked before standing up and ditching the box. The guard was about to open fire on him with her FAMAS assault rifle (trigger happy, much?), but Liquid was much faster, closing the distance between them in seconds, punching her square in the face, and grabbing the FAMAS out of her hands as she went down for the count. Liquid glanced at her unconscious form for a second and ascertained that he actually knocked out some of her teeth. Liquid heard the telltale sound of guns being cocked, and turned to face the rest of the guards. They had formed a perimeter around Liquid and were all pointing their weapons at him, but they weren't shooting just yet. Liquid grinned; time for the fun to begin. He didn't waste a second, shooting down three or four guards with the FAMAS to cut himself an opening in the perimeter and bolting out. He spun on his heel and opened fire again, cutting down several more guards. Liquid glanced up, and when he did he realized that these people were _not _short on reserves. More guards were flooding down from the upper levels of the wing, more than he'd be able to handle alone with a SOCOM pistol and a FAMAS rifle.

"Didn't think I'd have to use these so soon," Liquid remarked, pulling a pair of smoke grenades out of his coat. He pulled the pins and threw the grenades into the crowd. They exploded as soon as they hit the ground, smoke saturating the air and blocking everyone's vision; Liquid was unhindered; he was used to fighting in worse conditions than these. Before he bolted for the door, Liquid quickly rummaged through another recently deceased guard's uniform, finding a card key marked with a very large 'C'. Liquid shrugged- it had to be _somewhat_ useful- and bolted to the door at the very end of the building. He tried the card, and it worked like a charm, letting Liquid zip into the C-Wing right before the smoke dissipated. The first thing Liquid saw was a small alcove just large enough for him to fit into between the last row of cells and the wall; of course he dove for it.

Liquid took this opportunity to dredge up the layout of the C-Wing from the blueprints, since he didn't have his box to investigate with. Every three cells, there was a break between them that was _just _wide enough for him to fit into, if this alcove was any indication. The cells were cement, all enclosed and with just one window made of bullet-proof glass. There were slightly less guards and security cameras here, but the sheer deadliness of the traps you'd trigger if caught on camera was more than enough to compensate. The door could be locked by someone with proper access giving a vocal command, and there was a trap-door that lead down to the D-Wing in the middle of the floor. It could also be accessed via vocal command. He'd need a hostage.

Liquid took that moment to look out of the alcove… And was face to face with a rare male guard staring at him wide-eyed. Liquid was shocked for all of five seconds before realizing that this kid was obviously a rookie. He smirked; this could prove useful. Liquid shot out of the alcove and grabbed the boy in a headlock. The kid let out a strangled cry, which brought everyone's attention over to him and Liquid. Immediately Liquid turned so the boy was basically a human shield and pressed the SOCOM to his temple; everyone hesitated.

"Listen up! If you shoot, you're killing your comrade," Liquid said in an authoritative tone. "Same goes for activating the traps. Now, I need someone with access to the D-Wing to lock the door and open the trapdoor down there. If they don't comply, then… Oh, you're familiar with hostage-situation-jargon." The guards were hesitant at first, but an female guard who looked to be of Southeast-Asian descent stepped forward solemnly.

"I have access. I'll open the trapdoor and lock the one in here, but _only _if you guarantee that you won't kill him," she said in a tone almost as authoritative as Liquid's. Liquid just nodded, which seemed to be confirmation enough to the guard. She walked over to the C-Wing door and muttered something Liquid couldn't hear into a microphone above the card-lock. He heard something in the door latch, and as he slyly tried the door to see if it was _really _locked, the Asian guard muttered the same thing to a certain part of the floor. When Liquid was done with the normal door, he turned to see the trapdoor open. Liquid smirked and pushed the boy to the female guard, sprinting to the trapdoor as guards began to close in on him; hey, now that the kid was fine, he was free game. Liquid shot down seven of them- including the Southeast Asian woman- before shutting the door over his head (effectively locking it from being opened on the outside) and making his way down to the D-Wing. He paused right at the mouth of the stairwell.

There were only five guards and five security cameras, but that actually seemed to make sense when he looked at the cells. All of them seemed to be made of the strongest steel he had ever seen, and only had tiny windows made of bullet-proof glass in the doors. He had a sneaking suspicion that there was no way to hear the outside world inside them. Liquid positioned himself just right to shoot down the first security camera, but before he did so he fitted a silencer onto the SOCOM. He had no idea _why _he was doing it now, it just made him feel slightly more professional. He shot the first security camera to bits, then the second, then the third- he paused to reload- then the fourth and fifth, all in rapid succession. Liquid glued himself to the shadowy wall of the stairwell as the guards flew into a frenzy at the spontaneous destruction of the cameras, and after a second of watching this, Liquid shot down the first guard silently and quickly. This just served to make the guards even more agitated and hectic, making them easier targets for Liquid. Within seconds, all of them were lying on the ground in puddles of their own blood. Liquid holstered the SOCOM and pulled a generous amount of C4- plus a detonator- out of his coat. Time to look for Naomi and Regina.

Within one of the twenty cells in the D-Wing, Naomi Hunter was stretched out on her bed, staring at the ceiling. She shuddered; the iron used to make the cells almost looked black. Being alone in a little black room was never fun, though she had only been there for a few hours. She liked being alone (especially compared to being with a roommate who tried to shiv and rape her several times before hanging themselves), but she hated being in prison more. Naomi let out a sigh and briefly wondered how Regina was holding up; she had seen her dragged down to the opposite cell as hers, but she looked as if she had been roughed up quite a bit.

"They probably interrogated her," Naomi muttered, sitting up and stretching a bit. From the looks of it, it seemed like the Patriots had called Ocelot in special to interrogate Regina. They were brutal sons of bitches, to say the least… Naomi then caught something out of the corner of her eye. Something in her window… Something yellow and skin colored. Naomi got to her feet and went closer to investigate further. When she was right in front of the door, her eyes widened in shock; Liquid Snake was right outside her door! How- what- huh- what? He noticed her too and grinned wide.

He then began to talk, but since her cell was soundproofed in every way, Naomi had to settle for reading his lips, and she ascertained that he said this: "Naomi! Thank God, you're here! You should probably move away from the door, since I'm about to blow it and Regina's door up with C4." It took a second or two for that sentence to sink in, and when it did Naomi's eyes widened and she skittered all the way to the back of her cell. Right as she hit the back wall, her front wall exploded in a ball of fire, as did the wall opposite hers. She could feel the entire building shake from the force of those two blasts, and it took her a second after the smoke had cleared to get her bearings again. When she did, she ran out of the cell and almost smacked into Liquid. She had to stifle a laugh when looking at him; he was grinning the stupidest, cheesiest grin she had ever seen.

"I'm so glad I didn't blow you up on accident!" Liquid chirped. Naomi had to laugh now.

When she was finished though, a thought came to mind; "Wait, Liquid- Why are you saving me?"

Liquid blinked at her like she was an idiot; "You're part of FOXHOUND- well, not really, but- you're a friend. One of the only ones I've got now, actually." Naomi looked down and away, but their attention was taken away from each other and firmly placed on the muttered curses of Regina as she picked her way through the rubble and out into the open.

"Didja _have _to blow the door up?" Regina snapped.

"It's the only way to open the cells without hacking the locks, and I'm a terrible hacker," Liquid shot back, "So just be glad you're even out of there."

"Hoser," Regina muttered.

Naomi's eyebrows shot up; "Why'd you call him a 'hoser'?"

Regina stared blankly at her; "… I'm _Canadian_, I'm allowed to use that word."

"Bull_shit_, you're not Canadian," Liquid snapped.

Regina let out a small growl; "We don't _have _the accents you think we do, dammit!"

Naomi eyed her suspisciously before asking, "What do you think of 'Kraft Dinner'?"

"It's goddamn delicious," Regina deadpanned in reply.

"Yep, she's Canadian," Naomi declared. Regina face-palmed, but right then, the sounds of gears turning and locks un-latching coincided with the opening of every door around them, including the trapdoor. Immediately the maximum security inmates leapt out of their cells, the crazy ones spouting gibberish while the just plain evil ones shouting declarations of war on the whole world. Liquid, Naomi, and Regina all exchanged looks that could only be described with the words 'Oh Crap'.

"What the Hell-" Liquid began, but a voice boomed over the intercom and cut him off.

"I've opened every door in the prison! Now you won't have just guards in your way, you'll also have crazy women trying to kill you!" The voice exclaimed. Liquid cursed under his breath; that was the kid he took hostage! He should've killed him when he had the chance.

Liquid turned to Regina and Naomi and said, "Alright you two, there is no strategy. We're going to fight our way out of this building and onto the roof. We just have to stick together and not get ourselves killed, understand?" Naomi and Regina nodded, but the sound of a FAMAS rifle cocking kept the three of them from bolting out of there. They turned to see a bald woman whose upper half was covered in tattoos (and not much else) holding a rifle stolen from one of the dead guards; she was smirking maniacally, and behind her the rest of the maximum security inmates were fighting amongst themselves, trying to rip each other apart.

"S'up bitches? Name's Jack. I want in on this little roof escape of yours," she said, pointing the FAMAS at the group.

"Why's that?" Regina spat, pulling a butterfly knife from her prisoner's jumpsuit. Naomi and Liquid took a minute to wonder how the hell she smuggled that down here.

'Jack' scoffed, "You heard the man, everyone's running loose. This place is in total chaos. It's more than likely they're gonna call in the National Guard to fix this shit up. Anyone escaping on foot is fucked." Liquid narrowed his eyes and pointed his own FAMAS at her.

"We don't need someone like you slowing us down," Liquid growled.

Jack's grin widened- though she didn't look happy- and she echoed, "_Slow you down_? Oh, now it's on!" She opened fire immediately, and the three ducked for cover right as she did.

"Let's go!" Liquid shouted, grabbing Naomi's forearm and dragging her up the stairs. He threw his FAMAS to Regina, who provided some coverfire for them and for herself as she followed them up the stairs. Jack didn't give up pursuit, running after them and shouting something like "I will _destroy you!_". They were able to make it into the C-Wing a few minutes before Jack, and they were immediately met with an inmate with a large scar running across her face screaming towards them with a stolen rifle.

Naomi was the one to spring into action first, reaching into Liquid's coat to pull out a Desert Eagle he had stashed there as backup and shooting the scarred inmate right in the head. She went down like a ton of bricks. Liquid nodded in approval, and immediately the three of them ran for the stairwell. Inmates came flooding towards them, as did guards and various other people whose position couldn't be defined by their uniforms. The whole place had gone mad, it seemed.

Liquid had to both shoot _and _cut through them, since his SOCOM soon became not enough to defeat them all. He dealt with all enemies coming in from the front, and he dealt with them _thoroughly_, shooting each and every one several times them stabbing them with a CQC knife for good measure just to make sure they were down. Regina was in charge of the entire left flank, and she was also shooting _and _stabbing. Not that she had to- she was armed with an assault rifle, damn it!

She mowed through the prisoners and guards with that thing like they were made of cardboard! Her knife only came into play when she specifically didn't like someone's face and wanted to cut it to ribbons. Naomi had the right flank, but she also guarded the back, and she did it with a no-nonsense attitude. She shot everyone down with no special consideration at all, one shot for each to conserve ammo. When they were halfway to the stairs, Jack leapt out of the trapdoor.

Immediately Regina and Naomi switched weapons, Naomi opening fire on Jack. The bald woman just grinned wider and ran ahead of the bullets, zig-zagging along the corridor and kicking up dead bodies to serve as temporary meat shields. Naomi was so preoccupied with keeping Jack back that she almost didn't notice when she, Liquid and Regina reached the stairwell- Liquid was kind enough to grab her arm and drag her up the stairs. Naomi and Regina switched weapons again, but that really wasn't necessary. There weren't that many prisoners in the stairwell, and they only encountered a few guards that were easily dispatched.

Their main worry was Jack, and Liquid was dealing with her. Naomi and Regina took the front, and Liquid covered the back this time. He fired without pause at Jack as she pursued them up the stairs; this girl was impossible to shake off! He also had to dodge _her _rapid shots, which was more difficult than anything; the cramped quarters combined with the fact he was watching Naomi and Regina's backs was evidence of that. When they were around the third-to-top-floor, Jack actually had to reload her FAMAS rifle. Liquid took the opening and shot her in the leg. Jack let out a cry of pain, but she didn't stop chasing him. Liquid's eyes widened in shock.

"_NOW _I'm going to _kill you!_" Jack shouted, pointing the FAMAS at him once again. Liquid let out a curse before dodging her shots once more and getting off a few of his own. Liquid realized how close to the roof they were and decided to conserve ammo, just dodging her now and running as fast as he could. They got to the roof a minute or two before Jack, and the view from the roof gave them a clear picture of this new riot. There were small- and large- fires raging everywhere while the inmates ran wild; however, right as the three of them hit the room the National Guard had arrived, and they were storming the prison like it was their own personal landing at Normandy.

"Ocelot had better be here," Liquid growled. Right as he did, the deafening sound of spinning rotor blades roared over all noise and the searchlight of a helicopter cut through the darkness. Naomi, Liquid and Regina looked up to see Ocelot descending onto the roof in a jet-black helicopter; Liquid scoffed- as Ocelot got closer, Liquid could tell Ocelot was smirking at him.

"There's our ride!" Liquid called over the noise. When Ocelot was close enough to the roof, the three of them immediately rushed for the helicopter. Regina was first on, and Liquid would've been second if he hadn't caught Jack coming out of the stairwell and onto the roof. She was running faster than she ever had during their fight, and when she was close enough, she took aim with her FAMAS. Liquid at first furrowed his eyebrows in puzzlement when he saw she wasn't aiming at him, but his eyes widened in shock when he saw who she _was _aiming at. Naomi. He didn't even _think _about his next move.

When Jack opened fire on Naomi, Liquid leapt in the way and pushed Naomi forward, firing at Jack in that same instance. Both shots hit their 'targets'- Liquid's SOCOM round hit Jack right between the eyes, and Jack's FAMAS shot hit Liquid in his right eye. Liquid couldn't keep himself from letting out a cry of pain- who _wouldn't? _He just got shot in the eye! This immediately caught Naomi's attention, and she turned around to see Liquid's predicament.

"Oh my God- LIQUID!" Naomi cried. She grabbed him by the arm and dragged him towards the helicopter; Liquid regained his senses enough to climb into the machine himself. He was clutching his eye the entire time, though.

"Get us _out of here_, Ocelot!" Naomi exclaimed. Ocelot nodded and took off from the roof, swerving to avoid shots from the prisoners and the national guard. The ride was bumpy and uncomfortable until they were several miles away from the prison.

"Good riddance to that place," Regina sighed, sitting down on the floor of the helicopter while Naomi fretted over Liquid's eye, attempting to treat it with the limited medical supplies the first-aid kit on board the helicopter.

"What kind of first-aid kit doesn't have bandages?" Naomi muttered angrily. She had finished the basic disinfection of the wound and had ascertained that the bullet hadn't actually _pierced _Liquid's eye, rather grazed it, and was now rummaging around for bandages. Liquid watched her do that for a few seconds before taking off his trench coat and tearing a few strips of the fabric out of the 'tail' of the coat and handing them to Naomi.

"These should do for the time being," Liquid noted. Naomi nodded and wadded one of them up, placing it over the eye damaged eye and tying the rest of the strips around to keep it in place.

"I don't know think hospitalizing you would work, since that might put you back on the Patriots' grid…" Naomi muttered.

"I know a few back-alley doctors that can help you fix him up," Regina commented.

Naomi smiled and nodded her assent to this plan; "That'll work. Thanks, Regina." She then turned to Liquid.

"Liquid?"

"Hm?"

"… Thank you."

Liquid smiled a tired, but no less happy, smile; "You're welcome."


	4. Chapter 3: To Our Feet

_LAST TIME, Liquid rebooted, became a big damn hero by saving the girls, a Mass Effect cameo happened, and Liquid got his eye blown out in Big Boss fashion. SO, WE DIDN'T HAVE A CLIFFHANGER OR ANYTHING SO WE'RE BACK AGAINNNN. This is not a very action-packed chapter, it mostly just serves to fill the gap in the Metal Gear Solid timeline that is the year two-thousand-and-six (and the beginning half of 2007), or at least the important events that happen within. There aren't many of them, so prepare for… AWKWARD TRANSITIOONNSS! Gah, I should've written this in first person. It was so much easier to skip over large chunks of time in that point of view back in Howling, it made more sense D: Anyway, nothing in this belongs to be except for most of the plot divergences, changes in character design, and original characters (only one of which has actually appeared yet, and let me just warn you that THERE ARE GOING TO BE _A LOT_). Also, if any of the plans being made or the concepts being thrown around sound completely implausible and ridiculous, it's because I'm very bad at coming up with such things both in real life and in fiction. And I skipped around any part with Ocelot that I could afford to because I kind of hate writing for him. BASK IN MY LAZINESS. Let's roll~!  
_

_**-To Our Feet-**_

Finding the right doctor off the Patriots' grid to properly fix Liquid's eye and subsequently getting back to Ocelot and Liquid's apartment had _not _been easy for Liquid, Naomi, Regina and Ocelot, not in any way shape or form. But, really, would you have expected it to be? If you did, try to remember the last time _you _tried sneaking around the back alleys of New York City among the company of two women in prison jumpsuits, a blond man with a bleeding eye and no shirt, and a Russian cowboy trying to find any way to fix said blond, shirtless man's eye with an extremely conspicuous prison helicopter as your only mode of transport. But, despite the difficulty and all the strange looks they received, the foursome managed to find one of the few back alley doctors Regina was still on speaking terms with, get Liquid's eye properly bandaged and disinfected (though it was confirmed by the doctor that he would never really be able to see out of it again), and arrive at the door of the only apartment in New York that actually had revolver rounds lying on the ground outside the door, all within the reasonable span of about five hours.

"Can't we go in through the window?" Liquid wondered, leaning on Naomi due to his recent loss of quite a bit of blood and all the measures taken to remedy his low blood supply. Naomi immediately turned to him with a weirded out look.

"What? Why would we go in through the window?" Naomi wondered incredulously.

Ocelot stopped collecting the rounds lying on the ground and let out an exasperated groan before explaining, "Liquid seems to have a penchant for leaving the apartment through the door and coming back in through the window. I have absolutely _no _idea why he does it, probably just to piss me off even more."

"Don't talk about me like I'm not here," Liquid snapped, glaring his one-eyed glare at Ocelot.

"Can we _please _just get inside before we're noticed… some more?" Regina snapped, bringing everyone back to the situation at hand. Ocelot proceeded to unlock the door, and the four of them darted inside quick enough for the human eye to just _barely _recognize human forms moving through the threshold. The first thing Liquid proceeded to do was flop on the couch with a heavy sigh, and Naomi was quick to sit beside him, still looking nervous about his eye. Ocelot angrily sat down in his swivel chair, the intensity with which he did so actually making it spin a little bit, and Regina immediately strolled into the kitchen.

"Am I allowed to raid your fridge?" Regina called from beyond where she could be seen by anyone in the living room.

"You can only eat things that belong to Liquid," Ocelot called back. Liquid didn't seem to have the strength to glare at him for that particular jab. After about two minutes, Regina came back out into the living room, munching on what looked like a biscuit.

"This is a damn good biscuit you've got here, Liquid," Regina remarked mid-bite.

Liquid gained the strength to glare at _her_ right then and there; "It's a _scone_, Regina, and you are _not _allowed to finish that bite until you acknowledge it as such." Regina stopped chewing right then with a rather sad looking expression.

"Well, Liquid, you rescued them," Ocelot huffed, "But now even more people are crashing in _my _apartment! I am _not _sleeping on the floor for these women, I am _NOT_."

"_You _could leave, that'd make things so much easier around here for all of us," Liquid replied absently as he caught sight of a moth. After wondering how it fluttered in for about at second, Liquid decided that it had no place in here and was better off dead. So he made to grab it… and he missed. Liquid blinked- well, he would've if he had two eyes- in surprise, then looked away.

Ocelot rolled his eyes and snapped, "I'm going to leave the _room_, but that's _it. _This is _my _house, and I am _not _leaving." Ocelot did so, and after swallowing the bite without Liquid's permission Regina immediately looked around the room for listening devices and cameras. She found two on the bottom of the desk, one on the bottom of the chair, one beneath the couch, one in the upper window sill, and several more in the kitchen. Regina gathered them all together on the floor in the very center of the room, all of them adding up to about _sixty four_. No cameras, though. Regina looked to Naomi, who came closer and examined them. She then looked to Liquid, who responded by getting up and crushing the bugs with his foot.

"That wasn't the nonverbal cue I was giving, Liquid!" Naomi exclaimed. "The bugs were weak enough that we'd be able to just put them in a tupperware container and they'd be effectively deaf!"

"Better safe than sorry," Liquid replied, shrugging. Naomi rolled her eyes, but didn't say anything further on that particular matter.

"So… How are we going to go about taking them out?" Naomi asked.

Immediately Regina exclaimed, "_We? _I tangled with them once for Liquid's sake and ended up tortured and stuck in a little black room for a few HORRIBLE hours! I am _not _getting mixed up with them again, hell _no_."

"Regina, you owe him!" Naomi began, but Liquid soon interrupted.

"Naomi, don't force her to help. She has every right to not cooperate with us," Liquid said sternly.

Naomi immediately scowled; "Well, you and I can't do it with just the two of us! The Patriots' network is growing even harder and harder to break into with the advance of technology, and if we don't have any professional going in there and keeping us up to speed on their developments, I won't be able to do anything about them!"

Regina frowned and sighed, "I guess you're going to keep guilting me like this for the rest of the night until I stay, so I might as well anyway."

"That's the spirit~!" Naomi chirped, actually grinning for once.

"Now that that's out of the way," Liquid said, bringing everyone back around to the current subject, "The first and foremost step to this plan is getting the hell out of this apartment. You two saw all the listening devices in this room and the kitchen _alone_, and even though there aren't cameras in here _now_, the apartment will probably be covered in them by sunrise because of what we pulled with the other bugs. As soon as we can, we need to get out of here."

"If we do that, we'd be cutting off an important link to them by leaving Ocelot," Regina remarked, "And besides, do you think he'll just _let _us walk out of here? He needs us to stay here if he's going to get any information on our plans back to the Patriots, if he's even working for them. And if he's not working for _them_, he damn sure is working for himself, and we have no idea what he's gonna do with the information he gets. And it ain't gonna be fun for us, that much is goddamn certain. He's probably going to try using their network to lock us out of leaving this place in some obscure way, or at least keep us from finding somewhere else to go once we've left."

Naomi smirked; "At least at this point, it's rather easy to drop off their network. You just need to make it seem as if you've died or are no longer a threat, and it's relatively simple to make someone appear that way through the right channels. Those channels just happen to be the only ones the Patriots check, and I've had to get people off their radar before. I can get all of us off the grid, though maybe not Liquid. Their records regarding their- sorry about using this term- "creations", are slightly tighter and much harder to crack. And besides, I have the feeling that you're going to make quite the spectacle of yourself soon, so trying to make you disappear would be kind of pointless. However, once Regina and I are fully out of their system, we can use Regina's underground contacts to find us a place to stay."

"With regard to Ocelot," Liquid added, "We'll just have to fake an alliance with him until we don't need him any more. It'll also convince him that we still have no idea what we're doing while I'm trying to build Outer Heaven once again." Naomi and Regina didn't say anything for about three minutes, the two of them looking at him with eyes wide in shock and perhaps a little bit of fear.

"… Are you _sure _you want to keep going with that plan?" Naomi asked, her previously confident tone washed down the drain.

"I mean, it's not the most _profitable _plan you could think of," Regina added, "It's been done once- actually, I think Zanzibarland counts- I mean twice, and neither of those attempts went well. Your attempt at it in Shadow Moses ended up spiraling into the ground, so it's safe to say you're treading some dangerous waters here."

Liquid frowned and replied seriously, "I refuse to give up on Outer Heaven. That dream persisted past my father and down to me for a reason, and I won't leave that dream unrealized."

"Though I strongly disagree with your decision, I accept it," Regina sighed, sitting in the swivel chair and spinning around one for no adequately explored reason.

"Well, we're going to need more than just Outer Heaven to take them down," Naomi remarked. "We're going to have to crash their entire network. Their influence is ninety percent machine-based, and destroying the AIs running the current state of affairs would bring them down. However, we'll have to get through all the armies in the world to stop them; it's almost guaranteed that if they ever discovered what we were doing they'd send everyone they could think of against us. And I have a feeling they'll be working on an even more binding way to control soldiers and disguise it as a blessing."

"Crashing their network will be your main priority, Naomi," Liquid responded, "And your main priority, Regina, is to gain all information you can on the new Metal Gear being created. We'll need the power of that machine if Outer Heaven is going to go anywhere. If the Patriots are going to steal it, then they'll probably put Ocelot up to the job, and the only person he knows who could pilot that thing with barely any training is sitting right on his couch."

"Why do you always think of the most egotistical things to say, Liquid?" Regina wondered, and Liquid just shrugged.

"The plan will have to change as we go along, so keep that in mind," Liquid added, "Now, all I need is a new coat." Regina threw some crumbs of scone at Liquid for that horribly stupid line, and they hit him right in the eye-bandage. Immediately Naomi got to scolding.

Three weeks later- officially in the year two thousand and six by this point- Naomi and Liquid found themselves walking out of a store Naomi forgot the name to with Liquid wearing a black trench coat to go with his actual eye patch.

"Are you certain you're going to go with a black coat with brown pants, Liquid? I'm not so sure black is your color anyway," Naomi remarked with a tiny smirk as Liquid popped up the collar of his coat and attempted to pull the tag out of it. The tag remained stubborn, and Liquid simply frowned while struggling with it. Naomi then realized she was walking on Liquid's right and immediately went over to his left without so much as a word about it. Liquid didn't fail to notice it and immediately took his attentions away from the tag, looking to Naomi with a look that bordered on exasperated.

"You don't have to keep doing that," Liquid noted, "If you do, I'll never adjust to having a giant gaping blind spot. And if you feel responsible, don't; I was the one who decided to take the bullet, you didn't force me to take it." Naomi flinched, and though Liquid felt bad he knew this was probably one of the only ways to get her past that- if it _was _what she was indeed upset about.

"It's not what I _think _is my fault that's bothering me," Naomi replied softly, gradually walking slower and slower until she ultimately stopped and started staring at the ground. "It's what I _know_ is my fault." Liquid stopped a few steps ahead of her, heaved a heavy sigh, then turned back to Naomi with a raised eyebrow in proper British fashion.

"FOXDIE?" Liquid wondered, almost smirking back at her.

"I ended up killing Octopus, and could've killed the rest of you if Snake didn't get to you first," Naomi murmured, "That blood is on my hands, but… You don't blame me for it! It's all my fault, and you don't blame me! You stuck your neck out for me to break me out of prison TWICE, got your eye shot out for me, but I killed your friends! I don't deserve any of that…"

Liquid smiled and let out a small laugh; "To be fair, you were under duress. If Wolf hadn't read that note you left her aloud with me in the room, I wouldn't have known this and I _would _have blamed you. And on that topic, you were like a daughter to Wolf- leaving you to die would just be disrespectful to her."

Naomi let out a rueful laugh; "So you only saved me because of her?"

"That," Liquid replied, "AND you're a friend. I wouldn't have stuck my neck out for you if you weren't my friend. I don't blame you, and you shouldn't blame yourself."

Naomi smiled, but her heart wasn't all the way in it; "I suppose if I hang out with you long enough, I'll learn to believe that." She walked to stand beside Liquid again, and the two of them began walking again.

"By the way, about FOXDIE, there was something I wanted to ask you about that," Liquid said, changing the subject, "How _did _I end up not dying? I have a feeling that the reasons I know to be true are completely wrong, since I've been told over and over again that I am horrible with genetics and biology in general."

Naomi shrugged and replied, "I put the virus to a wild card value, and I made it target certain things that both you and Snake possessed in your DNA. Really, it could've jumped to either one of you, and will kill you whenever it pleases. You might have it, he might have it, you _both _might have it. It's impossible to tell from the surface."

Liquid was silent for a little bit before remarking, "That sounds more than a little implausible."

Naomi cracked a grin and retorted, "That's the funny thing about the world- When you're absolutely convinced things should work one way, even when your years of study support that way, things just flip upside down and work in a completely different way than what you're used to. _Right _when you need them to work normally the absolute most." Liquid blinked once before agreeing to that statement.

Months passed, and through those months Regina gathered more and more information on the newest Metal Gear- recently codenamed RAY- until the three members of Outer Heaven had more information than they knew what to do with. Assembling and testing of the war machine had begun halfway through the year, and the design made it look rather like the evolutionary link between dinosaurs and predatory birds, with a long, beak-shaped cockpit, a tail, and 'arms' that looked rather like wings. Its weapons had finally been confirmed as a pair of machine guns, anti-tank missiles, anti-ship missiles, a water jet cutter, and cluster bombs. It had armor made from a ceramic-titanium alloy, and needed to be piloted by only one man. The project was being spearheaded by Marine Commandant General Scott Dolph, and once the prototype was finished, it would be taken through New York and down to a testing location over five-hundred miles south of the Bermudas.

Apparently, the Patriots were going to have Ocelot steal it (Ocelot planned on getting some help from Sergei Gurlukovich- no doubt telling him some bullshit story about doing it for 'Mother Russia'), and once he had gotten his hands on it they'd redesign and mass produce the machine to… Well, Regina hadn't _quite _been able to gather information on what they'd be using the mass produced RAY models for, but it was safe to assume that whatever purpose they had was definitely sinister. And Liquid had successfully whined and bribed his way into taking part in the operation as RAY's pilot the minute Ocelot mentioned it to him. And _damn, _Liquid had tried _hard _to get in the cockpit, which probably stemmed from the giant grin that broke out on his face when he actually saw the design for the war machine. He had looked like a kid who had just gotten a Nintendo 64 for Christmas and was about to start freaking out about it on tape.

Everything Naomi had found out about the Patriots' network was so vague and filled with technobabble that Liquid barely acknowledged its significance, which left one of the goals they established technically unfinished. Their other goal, getting out of Ocelot's apartment, took a _very long time_. Between getting past the limits set by Ocelot and the Patriots, lying to Ocelot concerning their 'alliance', Regina trying to find people she was still talking to to get them a place, and everything else the trio had to do, the three members of Outer Heaven ended up in their own place at the very end of the year. Ocelot hadn't been happy about the entire thing, but he was rarely happy these days. Liquid actually couldn't remember the last time he saw Ocelot happy without having to dig a little into his long-term memory.

They had moved into a rather large, and actually really nice-looking, apartment in a part of town Liquid didn't know the name of because he had memorized every part of the map of London and that had clogged up quite a bit of space in his mind for remembering things regarding cities. He couldn't even ascertain the general 'class' of the area, but that was more due to not being told and having a bad gauge of such things all on his own. The place had been mostly devoid of furnishings except for one couch and a few dozen bullet holes in the walls (there were even casings to match them, and Liquid gave them to Ocelot as a Christmas present).

The day after they properly moved in, Naomi awoke to see Liquid standing in front of the large, almost wall-sized window in the main room of the apartment with a hand to his chin. Naomi couldn't see his expression, but she had something of an idea of his facial expression- probably a rather pensive expression. She didn't get up from the couch she and Regina were currently sharing (something Regina joked about being VERY pleased about), but she did sit up to look over at him.

"Enjoying the view?" Naomi wondered, still half asleep.

"There shouldn't be such a large window here…" Liquid muttered. "People can easily see inside the room."

"We're pretty high up," Naomi responded.

"Height doesn't pose much of a challenge if you _really _want to get into a place or see inside somewhere," Liquid shot back, glaring over his shoulder at Naomi. The scientist narrowed her eyes and furrowed her eyebrows.

"… Did you sleep at _all _last night?" Naomi wondered.

"No," Liquid replied promptly.

"Why?" Naomi continued to wonder.

"Normally I don't sleep because I've got PTSD, but Ocelot decided to call me… And rant for hours about me leaving… I think he was drunk," Liquid replied. Naomi's eyebrows shot up, and Regina mumbled something while opening her eyes halfway.

"What was that?" Naomi asked, leaning slightly closer to Regina.

"I _said _Ocelot must a' thought you were his boyfriend or something," Regina snapped. Naomi stifled a laugh, and Liquid smiled, murmuring something to himself about looking like Big Boss after all.

"Did he let anything slip about the Patriots?" Naomi asked, getting to her feet and stretching the sleep out of her limbs.

Liquid shook his head before musing, "He actually sounded rather sad towards the end."

"Well, you've been all he has in the way of company for a while… Maybe he actually felt sad that you weren't going to be living with him anymore," Naomi suggested.

Liquid's smile fell, and his eyes hardened immediately; "He doesn't care about anyone but himself, let alone me. All _he _has to be sad about is that he can't directly spy on my every move."

"He's human too, Liquid," Naomi remarked, frowning slightly.

"Sometimes I _really _doubt that," Liquid growled.

"Save it, Naomi," Regina groaned, rolling onto her back and stretching. Naomi let out a small sigh before going into the comparatively very small kitchen to try and make herself something to eat.

Soon into the year two thousand and seven- about mid-january, to be precise- the three members of Outer Heaven had fully settled into their new base of operations (if you could even really call it that). They had furnished the whole place rather comfortably, but they hadn't painted over the all-white walls nor had they bothered to do anything about the bullet holes in the walls. In Liquid's opinion, they gave the place personality. Naomi continued to study the Patriots' network, Regina continued to get information on RAY and other juicy tidbits of Patriot-related information she knew would pique Liquid's interest (she seemed to go out of her way to get those…), and Liquid continued to cooperate with Ocelot and Gurlukovich. Since both Ocelot and Gurlukovich agreed on Liquid piloting RAY when it was stolen, Liquid had been mostly forced into a VR simulation of piloting it once or twice. After the second time, not for any logical reason, Liquid refused to ever touch VR ever again. Or, perhaps, he just wanted to avoid Ocelot whenever he could afford it.

For quite a big chunk of time, the only parties involved were the Patriots, Ocelot, Gurlukovich, Liquid, Naomi, and Regina. It was fairly simple this way, but if the three members of Outer Heaven knew anything, it was that things around them were never simple. Soon enough, things complicated themselves, and that complication came in the form of an encrypted email Liquid received on the fifteenth of February, two-thousand-and-seven. The minute Liquid recognized the encryptions, he called Naomi and Regina over, and they all huddled around Liquid's laptop.

"… Should he even open it?" Regina asked, looking over at Naomi with a both puzzled and wary look.

"There's no other way to tell what all these encryptions are about," Naomi replied cautiously, brushing some hair out of her eyes.

"I almost don't want to," Liquid remarked, looking up at Naomi with his good eye and grimacing.

"Well you have to, so do it," Naomi shot back with a pointed glare. Liquid rolled his eye, but didn't protest further and clicked on the email to open it. It took a while to actually open, due to all the encryptions. When it opened… The flabbergasted expressions of everyone after they read it said more than the email ever could, but it will be transcripted here for your convenience.

_"Liquid Snake. I've learned from Ocelot that you lived through Shadow Moses, while the rest of FOXHOUND did not. I've also learned that you are cooperating with Ocelot to further your plans. I am Solidus Snake, more commonly known as the former president George Sears. Ocelot is working for me, and I think it would be beneficial to the two of us to meet and negotiate how we're going to work together. Working separately is not an option, at least as long as you're cooperating with Ocelot. You work with him, you work with me. I wish for us to meet on the roof of the building at the address, date and time I've listed at the bottom of the email. You may bring one other person along with you, since I will be doing the same. I look forward to seeing you once again. -Solidus."_

"That's some formal language," Regina noted after a little while.

"Is that _all _you're noticing about this?" Naomi wondered incredulously, turning from the email to Regina with a disapproving look.

"It's ONE of the things I feel like speaking up about," Regina replied with a small glare.

"Well, a more pressing question is if we can even agree to this," Naomi stated, narrowing her eyes in scrutiny as she examined the email once again.

"I have a feeling he'll get quite outraged and try to murder me if I don't follow his instructions," Liquid noted, "His formal language says that much, at least to me."

"But can we really take the risk?" Naomi asked, actually looking rather nervous. Liquid grinned up at her to calm her nerves.

"You're working with _me_, darling. I'm all about taking risks," Liquid replied playfully. Naomi allowed herself a smile.

"Alright," Naomi sighed, then turned to Regina. "Go with him, make sure he didn't make a mistake and keep him from doing anything stupid."

"Why do _I _have to be stuck babysitting?" Regina whined jokingly, and Liquid rolled his eyes. Three days later, Liquid and Regina found themselves standing outside the building Solidus specified. Regina was fiddling with her knife while Liquid was debating over whether or not the two of them should make their way through the building or just climb up the fire escapes. After several seconds of contemplation, Liquid turned to his pale, dark-eyed companion.

"Fire escapes?"

Regina smirked in response; "Fire escapes."

Within seconds, Liquid and Regina were climbing up the rusty ladders on the side of the building with nobody batting an eye. Regina actually wondered aloud on the way up about that, and Liquid replied that perhaps it was better for her sanity if she didn't think too hard about that. In a little less than an hour, Liquid reached the roof and stopped when he got there, turning to help Regina up the last few steps to the roof. When the two of them were both on even footing, Liquid turned to look out at the roof. On the other side of the roof stood Solidus, and his appearance could be summed up by the mantra Liquid quickly created in the back of his mind: _He's not Big Boss He's not Big Boss He's not Big Boss_. Although, unlike Big Boss (who seemed to have an infuriating smirk or frown in all of Liquid's memories), Solidus's expression was serious and nigh impossible to read. Liquid did his best to look as serious and unreadable as his 'brother'.

After analyzing Solidus to the best of his ability, Liquid turned to the smaller person accompanying his 'brother'. They appeared to be a woman in her twenties, about Regina's height, dressed in all black with dark hair (a portion of which was dyed red) and dark eyes. Her face betrayed no emotion at all, not even one of seriousness, and from her eyes and mouth down to the bottom of her jaw a pair of lines were tattooed on her face. Liquid had a feeling that the girl herself didn't even know what those tattoos meant. However, his attention was taken away from the girl and back to Solidus when he realized that the disgraced former president's eyes were resting on Liquid's eyepatch. Immediately Liquid frowned just a tiny bit.

"Yes, I've lost the same eye our father lost. You don't have to stare at me because of it," Liquid snapped, narrowing his eye. Solidus averted his eyes and looked at Liquid full on at that comment.

"I apologize," Solidus replied, "It was just rather… jarring." There was a bit of a silence directly afterwards. Everyone on that roof was staring down the nearest person within their line of sight- there was absolutely no trust between the two parties, and it showed. Words were carefully being chosen before they even left anyone's minds, revealing vocal inflections were being suppressed before they could see the light of day, everything was being meticulously run over and augmented within the minds of Liquid and Solidus so they could both express to the other absolutely _nothing_ in the most intimidating way possible.

"Indeed," Liquid replied coldly, before looking over at Solidus's one-woman-entourage once more. "You and I have already 'met' in a technical sense, but I haven't met the woman accompanying you. Who is she?"

Solidus briefly looked over at the woman before looking back to Liquid and answering, "This is a former child soldier of mine, Fuujin. That's her codename, anyway. She's currently working for me so that I, in exchange, can help her find someone." Liquid raised an eyebrow; that was just vague enough that he was certain any specific questions he asked would be artfully shot down. Fuujin nodded in his direction respectfully, and Liquid tried to look her over without looking like a creeper. He was able to gather that any weapons she had concealed on her person were _very _well hidden… _and _that she had rather large breasts for a woman of her stature. That was always an interesting tidbit of information to learn, the size of a potential adversary's breasts.

"Child soldiers, eh? It looks like you're even more like our father than I am, and _I'm _the one missing an eye," Liquid remarked, deliberately not smirking but keeping the smirk he so wished to have in his voice. Solidus narrowed his eyes a fraction, and Liquid nearly smirked- it looked like Solidus picked up the sentiment of his remark quite well.

"Anyways, since you've introduced your companion, I might as well introduce mine," Liquid stated before pointing to Regina with a flourish, "_This _is Regina Taylor. She's a spy, and a damn good one."

"S'up?" Regina called with a wave. Both Solidus and Fuujin remained impassive. Regina slowly lowered her hand and resisted the urge to start fiddling with her knife.

"Let's get to the matter at hand," Solidus proclaimed, and Liquid gave a nod of assent. "As I 'said' earlier, as long as you're working with Ocelot, you'll have to work with me."

"Now, I don't quite see the logic of that," Liquid remarked, leaning back a bit and putting his hands in his pockets as he gave Solidus a hard-to-interpret look, "I've been working alongside Ocelot for quite a while now without your involvement, and things have been going just _smashingly_, for _my _plans anyways."

For once, Solidus allowed himself a small smile; "I've been involved for longer than you think, Liquid."

"How so?" Liquid wondered, keeping the wariness out of his voice and replacing it with sarcasm. Solidus's smirk remained, and Liquid nearly scowled- that _damn smirk _haunted his childhood and was back to spite him in the present.

"I'm certain you think of the Shadow Moses Incident as _your _brainchild," Solidus replied, "Oh, how wrong you are." Liquid stayed silent and feigned a bored expression while a seething rage started to bubble up in the bottom of his stomach. "I ordered Ocelot into persuading you to go through with your plans. The dream for Outer Heaven is not your own-"

"Well it is now," Liquid interrupted with a grin. "You intended for my death, correct? Everything Ocelot bragged about seemed to imply such, and since that hasn't happened, I'm an unknown variable once again. And that's just how I like it." Liquid sauntered over to his brother with a grin while Solidus briefly looked rather surprised at Liquid's reaction. "Tell you what, as a favor between brothers, I'll keep being a part of the RAY-hijacking plan, and deliver the machine _special _for you. We'll talk then, but don't expect it to be a very long talk. For now, we're winging it."

Liquid turned on his heel and made his way back to the fire escapes with Regina behind him, but before he left he felt the urge to say one last thing; "And by the way _Little_ _Brother_, I don't think it's quite accurate to say that Ocelot works for _you_. He works for himself, and his ambitions _may _not coincide with yours. Just a little brotherly advice, Solidus." Liquid then disappeared over the side of the building, and Regina followed him down while Solidus's face contorted into a snarl at his elder (like any observer would believe _that_) brother's arrogance.

"Mister Solidus, should I run him down?" Fuujin asked evenly, pulling a gun seemingly from nowhere.

Solidus shook his head; "You may be skilled, Fuujin, but he has the very best of what our father's genetics had to offer. That's how he was designed. You'd be able to take the woman, but not him." Fuujin actually gave some semblace of a frown as she replaced her weapon. "We'll have to restrategize."

"As you wish," Fuujin replied with a nod. On the ground, Liquid punched the nearest wall, his face twisted into a nearly horrific visage of rage. Regina stood back, wide eyes even wider; he almost reached out to Liquid, but pulled her hand back at the last second and looked down.

"How could I just let them _manipulate me _like that? This is _unacceptable_, absolutely _unacceptable_," Liquid hissed, shaking all over with rage. Regina stayed silent as Liquid took a few deep breaths to attempt to calm himself down.

"… Are you still gonna try for Outer Heaven?" Regina asked quietly, stepping forward a bit.

Liquid glared over his shoulder at her and snapped, "Of course I am! I believe in it, and I'll never stop believing in it, so stop trying to throw me off of it _damn it!_"

"I only want to throw you off of it because I don't want you to die like your dad did!" Regina shouted back, her cool finally lost.

"I don't need _your _protection!" Liquid yelled back. "I'll never create Outer Heaven _or _kill Snake if I need to be watched over by a woman!" Regina just scowled at him and looked away.

"Let's just go back to the apartment," Regina muttered. Liquid just let out a small 'hmph', and the two of them left without another word.

Liquid and Regina didn't speak to each other for the month, Liquid sending his directives to Regina through Naomi and Regina sending curses along with her assent back through the scientist. This annoyed Naomi to no end, so eventually one day in early March Naomi left the apartment for three whole days, mostly just to get away from the two feuding members of Outer Heaven. When she came back three days later, Liquid and Regina were in the middle of 'pwning' (as the kids say) each other in Halo, exchanging good-natured banter that mostly consisted of derogatory terms for homosexuals. Naomi was mostly just confused as to where they had even gotten an XBox 360. But the two of them seemed to be back on good terms, so that was enough for her.

Planning continued normally as the months passed and winter turned to spring to summer, Naomi continued her quest of finding a way to crash the Patriots' network, Liquid continuing to plot with Ocelot and Sergei Gurlukovich, and Regina continued to find information on what the Patriots were planning on using Metal Gear RAY for. She actually made some noticeable progress on her goal, and found that RAY would be mass produced to defend a giant warship called Arsenal Gear. The Patriots intended to construct it right off the coast of New York, and it would require twenty five mass produced Metal Gear RAY units, soldiers, numerous surveillance cameras, and an entire payload of nuclear warheads along with full sea, land and air support to defend it.

"It sounds more like a floating coffin than anything useful," Liquid had remarked when he first heard about it from Regina. "What is it even for?"

"We'll have to find out," Regina had replied with a shrug, while Naomi had put a hand to her chin in thought. Right then, she delved back in to finding out the whereabouts of the Patriots' AI units.

Plans upon plans were laid, and one Summer night (when it was raining for some reason), they began. On August seventh, two thousand and seven, a call came through Liquid's cell phone that was encrypted to the nth degree. He couldn't quite read the number, but he answered anyway.

"Liquid. Get out here, it's time," Ocelot muttered through the phone. For the first time, Liquid grinned when he heard Ocelot's voice.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world," Liquid replied, shutting his phone and leaving the apartment with a swish of his coat. _Finally_, things were _happening_.

_1. This is not the last you'll see of Fuujin, which is why she seems so under-developed. She'll be important later. _

_2. Speaking of development, probably around the time I introduce some more OC supporting characters, I'll start up a little tie-in collection of oneshots for little pieces here and there of character development that either made the chapter they were supposed to be in too long, disrupted the flow of the chapter they were going to be in, or just plain didn't fit anywhere. That'll probably also be where I make little absurd drabbles concerning the characters and such of this story that also wouldn't fit in with the main ReGenesis story. _

_3. This chapter sucks because I like writing romance, funny-ness, and action. I HATE writing out chapters where plans have to be laid out meticulously and long periods of time where nothing interesting or plot-relevant happens have to be skipped over. It's not fun, but it has to happen for the plot to play out the way I want it to. The problem is, I have _ideas _for situations that should occur, but those ideas never really translate correctly. THANKFULLY, we start the Tanker Incident next chapter, which gets us started on Metal Gear Solid 2. From there on, the planning phases and time-skippage _should _move a lot quicker and be a lot more interesting since I have a map of what happened to follow and how I can amend the path to fit this AU. All I can hope is that you guys can ignore this chapter and that the next one will be far better. Read, and be gentle when you review… *winces and prepares for the impact of disappointed readers*_


	5. Chapter 4: USS Discovery

_LAST TIME, Liquid and the girls made some plans, Liquid turned into a pirate wearing a black trench coat, the three members o' Outer Heaven got their own apartment, Ocelot attempted to make a drunken booty-call to Liquid, Solidus showed up and was a douche bag, Fuujin made her first appearance, Liquid was all like FFFFFF and was mean to Regina, we time-skipped, and then TANKER SHENANIGANS WERE ABOUT TO HAPPEN. AND NOW, Tanker Shenanigans begin! I'm way too excited about this, I swear. Well, then again, it's always fun to write action-y things! SO, I only own the storyline, Liquid's new character design, the multitude of OCs destined to appear in this fanfic, and nothing else. SO LET'S GET DOWN TONIGHT BABY. Also, italics in quotes that are also italicized is Codec conversations or dialogue in a flashback. Also, for the scenes at the end, just pretend that RAY's cockpit is roomier than it is. Pleeease? For me? _

_**-USS Discovery-**_

Liquid grimaced as the helicopter jerked a little too much to one side before righting itself, then paused to shoot a venomous glare over his shoulder at the Gurlukovich mercenary piloting it. If it were anyone else in Liquid's place, they'd probably be slightly more forgiving towards the soldier- they _were _flying through a torrential downpour, after all. But for a man who had effortlessly flown a Hind D in a blizzard and taken out a pair of F16s with it in that very same weather, not being able to fly perfectly in the rain was just plain pathetic.

"It's just a little water," Liquid muttered to himself, looking out of the Kasatka and out onto the Hudson river just below. It was nearly past one in the morning, and yet you could see the bright lights of the city shining through the rain and on to the large tanker making its way towards the George Washington Bridge; for the fifth time that evening, Liquid wondered why the hell it was _raining _in the middle of the _summer_. He shook it off, and his eye wandered over to the tanker once again. Somewhere deep within that boat rested a slumbering beast by the name of Metal Gear RAY, and just thinking about it made Liquid wanted to grin. He settled for a smirk, leaned back against the wall, and reminded himself that _he'd _be the one to tame that 'beast'.

_That machine and I are going to get along swimmingly, I just know it_, Liquid thought to himself, his smirk growing wider. It fell once he caught sight of the _other _passenger in the helicopter out of the corner of his eye. Revolver Ocelot. The elderly Russian was staring through binoculars down onto the tanker, looking rather impatient about the whole thing. But, of course, you'd never think that from just looking at him with untrained eyes. To the average observer, he looked positively indifferent to the events he was looking out for. To anyone familiar with espionage, his impatience shone clear as daylight through the rain. Liquid quirked an eyebrow and silently wondered if Ocelot even remembered he was here. The blonde englishman took that moment to push back his sleeve and part of his glove to look at his watch. After taking note of the time and looking back out onto the tanker, the corners of his lips turned up a _very _slight amount. It was nearly time, and he could barely wait.

_It's been quite a while since I've done anything of any real substance, _Liquid mentally remarked. Before he could go any further, however, something went off right on the edge of his blind spot. Liquid immediately squinted- whatever it had been, it had been _very _bright, possibly bright enough to temporarily blind Liquid's right eye if he still had it. Immediately he turned so he could investigate it with his good eye, and squinted again. He was staring directly at a gigantic electrical discharge, like bolts of lightning firing into the air from one isolated spot only not _nearly _as powerful. It nearly blinded him, but that was his own fault for looking directly at it he supposed. The blonde 'snake' eventually ended up shielding that eye with his arm, and when the 'lightning' had dispersed he brought his arm back down again, continuing to investigate that one spot. Liquid furrowed his eyebrows at what he did see- standing right in the center of where the electrical discharge had originated was a man whose detailed features Liquid couldn't ascertain from this far away. All he could see was that the man wasn't wearing a Gurlukovich mercenary uniform or the olive drab of the marines. Liquid frowned- he had a bad feeling about this man.

"Ocelot, I need to use those binoculars," Liquid muttered in the general direction of his former-comrade. Ocelot said nothing, deciding just to hand Liquid the binoculars, but deciding to hold the right lens in his hand. Liquid frowned deeper and grabbed the binoculars out of Ocelot's hand. He looked through them and zoomed in on the figure in the middle of the deck… What he saw nearly made him drop the binoculars.

Solid Snake. Solid Snake, Liquid's own and _very _much despised twin brother, was standing on the middle of the USS Discovery's large deck, being continuously pelted by the rain. Liquid took great pains not to let his jaw hit the floor and closely examined his brother. It looked as if Snake hadn't shaved in a little while, his bandanna was different, he was wearing a completely different sneaking suit (which was even more skintight than the last one (Liquid shuddered that he had noticed that)), and he looked slightly older, but that was to be expected after nearly two years. Liquid stopped trying to keep any urges he had down and broke into a large, face-splitting, nearly psychotic grin.

"Who invited Snake~?" Liquid wondered gleefully, passing the binoculars back to Ocelot with only hidden hesitation. He had wanted to stare at the object of all his abhorrence just a _little bit _longer. Ocelot was briefly taken aback, but then he became cool and collected again upon seeing Snake himself. Right then, with absolutely no warning, a Codec call came bursting through to Liquid. He answered it almost unconsciously- nobody alive knew his frequency besides Regina and Naomi, so there wasn't any real _need _to proceed with caution in this territory.

_"Liquid, I've gotta tell you-" _Naomi quickly began, but Liquid just as quickly cut her off.

_"- That Snake is coming to the tanker?" _Liquid replied, still grinning even in his image on the Codec monitor.

Naomi blinked a couple times, brown eyes wide; _"Uh, yeah. How did you…?"_

_"I saw him arrive myself, and though I have no idea why my dear brother decided to drop in I have to say that I can _not _be happier that he's here," _Liquid said, his statement devolving into a sinister hiss at the end.

Naomi paused for a little bit before replying, _"Well, since he and Hal Emmerich from Shadow Moses met up after the incident, they've been working in an Anti-Metal Gear organization they call Philanthropy. It barely consists of just the two of them, and is nearly nonexistent on the international scale. Apparently someone leaked information to Emmerich about RAY, and he's sent Snake in to investigate it and expose it via pictures Snake's supposed to take himself."_

Liquid raised an eyebrow; _"So Emmerich is smart enough to design REX, but NOT smart enough to distrust anonymous tips." _

_"He _did _investigate the tip out after the fact to confirm it, if it's any consolation," _Naomi began, _"But he only accepted it because the sender used the name E.E. Those are the same initials as his stepsister, Emma Emmerich." _

Liquid rolled his eyes, but smirked again; _"Let's just thank God that Emmerich is as gullible as he is." _Liquid switched off the Codec call, and continued grinning like a psychopath down at his brother. This was just _too good_- in a rare moment of keeping his priorities straight, Liquid had actually planned on dealing with Snake and his desires for revenge _after _he succeeded in creating Outer Heaven, had destroyed the Patriots, or both. But now that someone- most likely the Patriots themselves- had just served him his brother on a silver platter… How could he _possibly _refuse? Ocelot looked over to him, rolled his eyes and looked back out onto the tanker. He wouldn't have to be in the same helicopter with the englishman for very much longer, and that was a load off his shoulders. Liquid's eye flickered over to the other Kasatka hovering just across the river, and right as he did, a call rang through the handheld radio both Liquid and Ocelot were forced to share (they _were _working with impoverished Russian mercenaries, after all).

"Shalashaska, Zmyeya, we are just about to begin the assault," Sergei Gurlukovich's thickly-accented voice stated over the radio. Liquid tried not to wince at being called Zmyeya- _why _did Gurlukovich _have _to call him just plain 'snake' in russian?

"Right," Liquid replied over the transceiver, "We'll meet you and Olga outside the bridge and go from there." Liquid turned off the transceiver and looked over to Ocelot. Ocelot didn't look back, and immediately the other Kasatka swooped down close to the upper deck of the tanker. Eighteen Gurlukovich mercenaries leapt out onto the boat and immediately got to work creeping up on the unsuspecting marines. One mercenary grabbed a marine from behind in a chokehold before slitting his throat. Another soldier followed suit, and by the time that one had finished his work one of his companions had thrown another marine sentry's body off the ship. Within seconds, the outer deck had been completely subdued by the Gurlukovich mercenaries.

Liquid smirked before snapping over his shoulder to the pilot in Russian, "Take us around to the bridge." The pilot let out a small 'da' before taking a hard right around the bow and back to the area right outside the bridge of the tanker. Liquid didn't bother waiting until the Kasatka was at a safe distance, instead just jumping out of it like a maniac when it was marginally within range. Ocelot face-palmed and informed the pilot he wouldn't be doing something as suicidal right as Liquid skidded to a halt despite the overpowering rain. Liquid stayed still for a moment before standing to his full height and grinning to himself- that had been _fun_. He was just so very _glad _he couldn't be killed as easily as a normal person, that gave him the ability to do stupidly fun things no normal person could. The Kasatka lowered down to nearly touch the ground, and Ocelot hopped out of it to frown at Liquid.

"Oi, don't try anything like _that _ever again," Ocelot snapped, pulling out his revolver and spinning it around several times. "We need you _alive _to pilot RAY, y'know."

Liquid just rolled his eye and replied, "Whatever." Liquid intended to continue, but at that moment Gurlukovich and Olga came out into the rain through the bridge. Gurlukovich seemed to be dressed sensibly for the weather in a heavy coat and stereotypical ushanka, but his daughter was… _not_. The closest thing she had to coverage from the rain was a hat.

Liquid smirked and waved; "_Dobryĭ vecher_ Sergei, Olga. Lovely night, yes?"

"It is indeed," Olga replied politely. Old Man Gurlukovich just narrowed his eyes at Liquid, probably not quite happy with the englishman fraternizing with his daughter.

"So, let's see," Liquid began, "How is this going to work? What're you going to do while I'm sneaking into the holds to find RAY?"

"Why do you want to know?" Olga wondered curiously AND suspisciously. Liquid nearly scoffed- she really _was _Gurlukovich's daughter.

"I need to know where you all might be in case something goes wrong _or _if my infiltration is going to get in the way of your aims," Liquid replied, pushing some locks of wet hair out of his eye.

"That makes sense," Olga muttered, sounding semi-sheepish.

"Alright then, we'll run this over for you _again_," Ocelot snapped, sounding exasperated for no substantial reason. "Sergei will be overseeing the troops until it's time to take back RAY, You'll be waiting with RAY in the holds, and Olga and I will set up the Semtex on the ship's key structural points. Try to avoid those points, unless you feel like getting yourself blown up." Liquid rolled his eyes at Ocelot's comment, but didn't throw a snarky comeback of his own.

"Alright then," Liquid responded with a nod before grinning. "Let's all hope for success, eh? See you in the holds, comrades." Liquid strolled into the main bridge of the ship, and Olga turned to her father and Ocelot. Both of them were glaring after him, Sergei's glare full of suspicion and Ocelot's full of scorn. She briefly wondered why neither of them trusted the englishman, but remembered that she didn't fully trust himself herself. Once inside, Liquid's Codec began to ring again; before doing anything about it, he checked the frequency.

_144.69… That's Regina, right_, Liquid thought to himself before answering the call and continuing to walk.

_"You readin' me Liquid?" _Regina asked over the Codec, sounding a little fuzzy.

_"As best as I can," _Liquid replied, _"Why does it sound so fuzzy on your end?"_

_"Though we're nice, Canadians do not produce high-grade nanomachines," _Regina sighed. _"Let's just drop it."_

_"Fine. So why'd you call? Feeling lonely~?"_

_"I'm just fine with Naomi here, thanks. And I called to let you know that the fastest way to the holds is through the crew's quarters. I gotta warn you though: the bulk of the marines on this ship are stuck down below in the holds. I'm estimating that by the time Snake gets to the holds- if that's where he's headed, anyway- the marine commandant will have started giving his speech, distracting the soldiers. You won't have that luxury. "_

Liquid frowned and remarked dryly, _"Way to make me feel super confident about all this, Regina." _

_"I'm telling it to you like it is, Liquid. Be grateful I'm even giving you info on what you're up against, I could've sent you in there blind. If it helps, you _do _have the advantage over Snake in that you won't have to sneak past the Gurlukovich mercs. Most of them will recognize you, but if one doesn't, identifying yourself by the name Zmyeya should make them aware of who you are."_

_"Lovely. Well, wish me luck." _

Regina laughed through the Codec, it even showing up on her image in the monitor. _"You don't need luck, Liquid. You've got skill. Put that skill to use and come back with RAY, that's an order." _As Regina ended the call, Liquid wondered why _he _wasn't the one giving orders, but quickly surmised that it didn't really matter and proceeded down through the crew's quarters. He didn't encounter any resistance, though a few guards didn't recognize him at first glance, and soon enough found himself in the cavernous engine room of the ship. Immediately he winced; this place was _loud_, far too loud for Liquid's tastes. Even worse, he had a feeling it'd be far less loud if the room didn't have as much space for the sound to echo off of.

He hugged the wall immediately after that thought; from what Liquid had gathered, Gurlukovich's men hadn't made it down this far into the ship. Looked like his free-ride had finished quicker than it began. Liquid snuck along the wall and into a small alcove that- for some obscure reason- contained the vertical metal lockers Liquid was seeing all over the ship. A marine soldiers was making his way into the alcove, and Liquid fought down a curse. He was _just _about to be discovered. Right then, the marine noticed him and immediately pointed his assault rifle right at Liquid. Before he could open fire, Liquid whipped a CQC knife out of his coat and flung it straight into the soldier's throat. The marine collapsed to the floor, eyes wide in terror and pain as he choked on his own blood… and the serrated blade in his windpipe, that too. Liquid shot up quick as lightning, drew his SOCOM pistol and shot the guard point blank in the face before shooting his handheld radio just for safety.

The black-coated englishman stuffed the fallen marine into a nearby locker- taking a moment to retrieve his knife- before moving on. He was able to descend down to Deck-2 on the port side of ship. Right as he shut the hatch to that part of the ship behind him, the Codec chirped in his ear. Liquid answered it seconds after reading the frequency.

_"Yes, Regina?" _

_"Just giving you a heads up on some things here. RAY is being held on the starboard side of the ship, and to get over there you'll have to cross through a sixty-meter-long, U-shaped corridor. I have no idea how many marines there may be in there, though." _

_"I can't very well fight them in this kind of environment," _Liquid remarked, flat against the wall for safety.

_"Don't panic just yet," _Naomi interjected, coming into the codec call. _"Can you see any doors near you?" _Liquid looked down the corridor to investigate.

_"Yes, one about ten yards up and on the right side," _Liquid replied.

_"That one should be the door to the electrical room. You can take out the power in any area of the ship from there, but it'd be safer just to take out the lights on the deck you're on," _Naomi explained.

Liquid raised an eyebrow and asked, _"Couldn't I also turn out the lights in the cargo holds to give myself some additional cover from the marines?"_

Regina cut back into the conversation, her slightly distorted Codec image frowning; _"That'd just give you and the Gurlukovich mercenaries away. Isn't that obvious?" _

_"Right," _Liquid muttered before switching off the call and darting over to the electrical room. He tried the door, and, luckily enough, it was unlocked. Liquid shot inside and studied the banks of circuit breakers, looking around for the switches controlling the lights on this deck. Once he found them, the englishman was about to go straight to futzing with them, but he hesitated for a second; he wouldn't be able to come back here to turn the lights back on, and he didn't want to leave the mercenaries in the dark about this… Liquid wracked his brain for a few seconds, then came up with Olga's codec frequency. He tried it out and waited for her to answer. Eventually, the young Russian woman picked up.

_"Olga, it's Liquid. Relay this message to Ocelot and Sergei," _Liquid said matter-of-factly. _"I'm going to turn the lights in Deck-2 off from the electrical room. When the soldiers get down there, they need to find the electrical room and turn the lights back on. The room is the first to the right in the main Deck-2 corridor."_

_"I'll relay that, but why does this need to go through me?" _Olga asked, raising her own eyebrow.

_"Because your father doesn't have Codec and I hate Ocelot about as much as white supremacists hate… um, almost everyone," _Liquid replied simply, _"Haven't we gone over this before?" _

_"Right. Anyways, I'll tell them. Thanks for the heads up, Zhidkosti," _Olga said before signing off. Liquid cracked a grin; even if she was suspicious of him, the fact that Olga had the decency to call him Liquid when her father continually called him Snake was enough to make him marginally fond of the girl. Liquid then returned to futzing around with the circuit breakers until all but the electrical room was plunged into darkness. Liquid snuck out, quiet as could be, and smirked. For once, his coat didn't make him stand out. It took a few seconds for Liquid's eye to the darkness, but once it did, Liquid could see clear as day in the corridor. He didn't both hugging the wall, instead just deciding to stalk through the darkness like a jungle cat hunting its prey.

Liquid didn't encounter any resistance until he was nearly to the end of the corridor- it was then that he heard voices. American accented voices. Liquid ducked behind the nearest wall, and just barely looked out to see what he was up against. Two marines were on either side of the hatch down to the holds, both of their eyes darting about as they attempted to adjust to the darkness.

"First Simmons is late with his status report, and now the lights go out? I'm telling you, one of us has to go and investigate," one of the guards muttered to his fellow.

"There may be intruders, but if we go to investigate it's just as good as letting them waltz right into the holds," the other guard snapped. "We're the only ones here, and our job is to keep intruders out-" Before he could continue, Liquid had shot the man in the head. _God_, Americans were useless! Before the other marine could even react, Liquid shot him as well and got to work hiding the bodies. When the marines were fully hidden away, Liquid made his way through the hatch and into the holds; in a normal tanker, these large rooms would be filled nearly to the brim with oil. However, they were empty within the Discovery, only highlighting its real purpose even further. The landing Liquid was on was approximately seventy feet from the ground, were a multitude of marines were milling about.

Liquid called Naomi and said, _"Naomi, how many men would you approximate are here?" _

_"How many? Hmm, I think… probably somewhere around fifty," _Naomi replied. _"Now, Liquid, you're going to need to analyze your surroundings down to the very last detail if you're going to get through there with all those soldiers. Any one of them has a very high chance of spotting you if they just randomly look your way, so you'll have to look out for them the most. Try and avoid the center of the room, if you can." _Naomi signed off, and Liquid tried not to sigh. This wasn't going to be easy, to say the absolute least. Liquid continued to hug the wall and inched slowly towards the ladder down to the second landing. Thankfully, the room wasn't very well lit, leaving him shrouded in shadows. Liquid made it to the ladder after about two minutes, then climbed down it as quietly as he could possibly manage.

_So far so good, _Liquid thought to himself as he hugged the wall once again and inched along the second landing, this time at an even slower pace due to the slightly better lighting this far down. He continually thought things like _Slowly, James _and _Quieter, James _to keep up his so far flawless performance; referring to himself using his Christian name always seemed to help the former FOXHOUND leader through nerve-wrackingly stressful situations. Liquid made his way to the other ladder without incident, but instead of proceeding straight down, Liquid paused to investigate the immediate area he would be dropping onto. He frowned; quite a few guards had congregated right at the bottom of the ladder, and several more were standing right near them. He couldn't just start capping them one by one from up here; no, he'd have to get them as far away as possible from this side of the room. But how to do it…

Liquid sighed and fished a silencer out of his jacket; he hated to waste bullets, but he had to do something to get the marines out of his way. Liquid screwed the silencer onto his pistol, aimed for the opposite wall, and fired. The gun barely made a sound as the bullet cut across the room and into the wall with a short 'clang'. Immediately the marines looked over to where the bullet had impacted, all of them alert once more. Almost every single marine in Liquid's path made their way over to the other side of the room, but a few marines were coming over to take their places. The englishman wasn't too perturbed- there were only four of them, Liquid had snuck past twice that in broad daylight. Liquid slid down the ladder and landed as softly as possible… and then his face split into a wide grin. There was a box right next to the ladder. A perfectly empty cardboard box. Oh, he could _not _pass this up either. Immediately Liquid hopped into the box and began to shuffle his way to the door.

Sadly, Liquid made his way across the entire room without alerting a single marine. Liquid almost wanted to cry, it was so _sad_. Why did nobody train normal foot soldiers properly? But, it wasn't his mission to think of the incompetence of the United States' military, and he continued to shuffle. He shuffled through an identical room with slightly less soldiers, and finally ended up in a completely empty room. Liquid discarded his box, and immediately widened his eye. Towering behind a catwalk-esque platform was Metal Gear RAY in all its glory. The englishman was astounded, RAY was _far _grander in person; it shone in the minimal light, appearing almost organic and completely different than any of its precursors. Its opalescent gloss reminded him of some seashells he had seen, and the cables keeping it in place gave it the look of a gigantic monster that had just been forcibly taken from its home.

Liquid paused before going any closer to RAY. He could just activate it, cut his way out of the ship, and leave with Ocelot none the wiser. That'd be the overall smarter choice. And yet, for some sick and twisted reason, Liquid _wanted _to see how Ocelot would screw Gurlukovich over at the last minute. Maybe it was a side effect of formerly having Ocelot 'on your side' (oh how conveniently loose that definition was). And still yet, Snake would be here… Would his desire for revenge _really _outweigh practicality? Liquid let out a sigh and smiled; of _course _it would. It would for the rest of time. Now, where would he wait for Ocelot's undoubtedly dramatic hijacking of RAY?

Liquid looked up at the head of the beastly machine, and saw that the lighting up there was just poor enough that he'd be able to sit up there for extended amounts of time without being noticed. Immediately Liquid wormed his way around several obstacles and over to the foot of RAY, beginning to climb up it when he reached it. Liquid climbed and climbed without hesitation, though he did slip up a bit and nearly fall to his death around the amphibious metal gear's midsection. He _had _regained his grip, though, and successfully reached the top of Metal Gear RAY's head. Liquid took a moment to look around from his perch- he could see nearly everything in the room from here! It was from that perch that Liquid saw a more direct ladder to where he was headed. Liquid stared at it for a moment before shrugging and concluding that his method had been far more fun.

Liquid called Regina and reported, _"Liquid here. I've made it to Metal Gear RAY and am currently sitting on its head."_

_"Awesome," _Regina responded, grinning on the monitor, _"From the satellite images me and Naomi have got up, it looks like Ocelot and Gurlukovich have reconvened to go down to the holds and Snake is also making his way down there. Gurlukovich mercenaries are already down in the engine room, so he won't be getting to you without meeting some resistance on his way down. Also, the marine commandant's speech is going to start in about ten minutes, so you should make sure you're well hidden."_

_"Got it," _Liquid said with a nod before signing off. Hmm, ten minutes all to himself, eh? What could he do with such time?

_"You know, Liquid, we could… do things, to pass the time~" Liquid smirked and shot the Kurdish sniper a playful half-glare._

_"Come on now, aren't _I _supposed to be the one that's trying to get you in bed twenty-four-seven?" he wondered. _

_"I've become a little more open-minded," Wolf replied, leaning over and breathing seductively against his ear. Liquid tried to restrain himself, but more than anything he wanted to take her up on that offer… _Liquid's eye widened, and immediately he shook his head vigorously as his breathing increased in frequency. No, no, _no_, he couldn't think of her. Not here, not now. Not when he needed to focus… Was his face wet? Liquid rubbed the water off of his face and vehemently tried to convince himself that the ceiling was just leaking. That was _it_, and that would _always _be it… He so desperately needed that to be it.

Liquid ended up wasting the ten minutes he had by trying to regulate his breathing back into normal parameters while fighting off all other flashbacks attempting to burrow their way into his well-guarded psyche. When those ten minutes were up, marines flooded into the holds and the commandant began his speech. All of Liquid's thoughts of his deceased fiancee disappeared as he listened to the speech with a raised eyebrow. At many different points he was either lying, didn't know he was lying, or a strange combination of both that Liquid couldn't quite properly describe. It was quite the spectacle to listen to. A quarter of the way through the speech, Liquid noticed Ocelot and Gurlukovich appear in the shadows, lying in wait just like himself. The englishman decided to mess with Ocelot by looking over at him, smirking, and waving. Ocelot just sent a death glare back up at him, and Liquid raised his hands up in a warding gesture before silently chuckling and focusing back on the speech.

Halfway through the speech, around the point that the commandant was mentioning his daughter for some reason, Liquid had been just about to nearly fall asleep (and subsequently fall right off of RAY) when he noticed some movement at the back of the room. Liquid squinted to try and get a better look at it, but that was incredibly difficult with just one eye. Eventually, when the source of the movement began to move again, it started coming closer. Liquid finally got a good look at it, and realized it was a man. Liquid's face split into a grin that passed over the border between happy and psychotic on a flaming motorcycle and never looked back.

Liquid was staring straight at Solid Snake; the soldier hadn't changed a bit since Shadow Moses (besides the fact that he apparently hadn't shaved recently and had a slightly different sneaking suit on this time around), that much was certain. Solid Snake had successfully snuck into the lair of Metal Gear RAY, and Liquid had a feeling he couldn't get any happier than this, not even if Sniper Wolf came back to life right then and there in front of his eyes. In a way, that actually kind of freaked him out that he was _happy _to see his brother, no matter how psychotic that happiness may have been.

"I can't wait," Liquid hissed, leaning back into the shadows and preparing to wait out the rest of the commandant's speech. Liquid barely payed attention to the latter half of the marine commandant's speech, too busy tracking Snake's movements as he flitted about the holds, taking pictures of RAY from many different angles. Liquid actually got a little paranoid for a few seconds that he might've been in any one of the shots, but decided "screw it" five seconds later. Snake would be dead soon if he had anything to say about it, so it didn't matter if he had accidentally been in one of Snake's pictures of RAY, now did it? In the very back of his mind, Liquid sincerely hoped it did.

After what felt like an agonizingly long time, the marine commandant ended his speech with, "That is all, dismissed." The marines immediately saluted their commandant, and the African American officer saluted to them in return. Before anyone could relax, however, slow sarcastic clapping rang out through the cargo hold. Liquid tried not to burst out laughing- and Ocelot thought _he _was cheesy back in Shadow Moses? … However, Liquid could not deny the impact of a well-executed dramatic entrance, so he refrained from a snarky comment.

"Excellent speech, my friend," Ocelot remarked (doing Liquid's snarking job for him) as he walked into the open area behind RAY, continuing to clap sarcastically as the commandant turned to him.

"Who the-?" the commandant didn't finish that thought for some reason or another.

"Gift of the silver tongue," Ocelot continued, "They say it's the mark of a good officer. _And _of a _liar_. Americans are too in love with the sound of their own voice to speak the truth." Liquid refrained from mocking Ocelot by calling out 'Burn!'. Liquid's intonation aside, the commandant was less than pleased with that accusation.

"Identify yourself!" he commanded as several marines rushed to form a perimeter around him, all of them pointing their assault rifles at Ocelot. Ocelot wasn't even slightly perturbed at the multitude of automatic weapons being pointed his way, while Liquid was crossing his fingers in hopes that they'd open fire on him.

"I am Shalashaska," Ocelot declared dramatically, "Also called… Revolver Ocelot!" The marines made a move to rush Ocelot, but the commandant stopped them and Liquid barely suppressed a curse.

"What do you want?" the commandant asked further.

_What are you _waiting for_? Just shoot him! _Liquid thought, grinding his teeth angrily.

Ocelot smirked and began to walk towards the marines; "This machine will be quite useful."

"What are you planning to do, steal this thing?" the commandant snapped.

"Steal?" Ocelot scoffed. "No, I'm taking it back." Liquid frowned and bit the inside of his lower lip- well, that told him where Metal Gear RAY was going to end up in Ocelot's plan. Looks like he'd have to take RAY for himself after all. As he thought that, the blonde Englishman saw Snake taking advantage of the tense atmosphere and moving slightly closer to the action. Was it quite the right time to make Snake freak out by coming into the open? … Nah, he could wait a little while longer. Back with the main action, the commandant smiled derisively at Ocelot's last claim before the barrel of a Makarov was pressed up against his throat. Somehow, Sergei Gurlukovich had managed to sneak up behind the commandant and put a gun to his neck. How the hell the elderly Russian did it, Liquid had no idea. Immediately all the marines turned to point their rifles at Gurlukovich, who was just as calm as Ocelot in the face of automatic weaponry. Ocelot raised his left hand into the air- said hand just happened to be holding the detonator for the semtex.

"Nobody move! Understood?" Ocelot barked, glaring at the marines while he brandished the detonator. "This ship now carries enough semtex on its key structural points to blow it out of the water at the touch of this button." The marines kept their guns trained on Ocelot and Gurlukovich, but they just kept hesitating. Liquid rolled his eye; who the hell _trained _these men?

"That's right. No one has to die needlessly," Ocelot said, smirking infuriatingly. Right then, several coils of rope dropped from the ceiling and several Gurlukovich mercenaries rapidly descended to the floor. When they hit the metal ground below, the commandos surrounded the marines and raised their weapons to join those of the American soldiers. A good percentage of the mercenaries positioned themselves around the legs of RAY. There was a bit of a tense silence, and Liquid was just glad he was observing all of this from above. If he had to be in the middle of it, he was certain he'd have to make a snarky comment or two to keep from suffocating.

"We're almost at the target, get a move on!" Ocelot snapped to the Russian soldiers. Immediately the bulk of them got to work unfastening the cables keeping RAY in place, making Liquid's hiding place sway a bit. Liquid rolled his eye again and decided this was the end of the silent treatment, Snake be damned.

"Oi, I'm still on this thing's _head _you know!" Liquid snapped down at Ocelot. Ocelot just shot him a glare.

"Yeah, the hope is the thing will fall over and crush you," Ocelot shot back.

"Glad to see we can't keep from killing each other even when we're supposed to be cooperating," Liquid muttered to himself.

Meanwhile, the commandant (Liquid _just _remembered his name was Scott Dolph and his rank was general) regained his composure and asked, "What do you intend to do with RAY, sell it on the streets?"

"I was raised in Snezhinsk, also known as Chelyabinsk-70, the nuclear research outpost," Gurlukovich replied in what passed for English with his men.

"What are you talking about?" Dolph questioned further.

"After the Cold War ended, my home was bought out by the Americans."

"Is there a point to this sad story?" Liquid liked the man's wit, that much was certain.

"None that you would understand. Land, friends, dignity… all sold to the highest bidder. The _only _bidder– the United States of America. Even the technology that gave birth to the weapon we see here is Russian, developed by us!"

Dolph glared at Gurlukovich and asked again, "What do you intend to do?"

"Russia _will _rise again– and RAY is the key," Gurlukovich replied. He looked over to Ocelot for a show of solidarity, and Liquid let out an uncomfortable sigh.

"And here's where it happens," Liquid sighed, folding his arms behind his head uncomfortably.

"I regret to inform you Sergei that I have _no _intention of selling Metal Gear," Ocelot replied, "As I said, I'm here to take it back."

"Why are we not surprised, class?" Liquid asked before raising his own hand and answering, "Because Ocelot's a backstabbing bastard, that's why. I _did _warn you Sergei." Liquid's snark went unacknowledged.

"Yes, returned," Ocelot continued, "To the Patriots!"

"And we're _also _not surprised by _this_," Liquid sighed, rolling his eye for good measure, "Also because Ocelot is a backstabbing _bastard_." Once more, Liquid was ignored, and General Dolph jerked violently at Ocelot's declaration.

"The La-Li-Lu-Le-Lo? How is that possible?" the commandant exclaimed. Liquid tried not to sigh again for fear of sounding redundant- he _really _had hoped not to hear the phrase La Li Lu Le Lo _ever_ again.

"Ocelot, you- have you sold us out?" Gurlukovich growled.

"I was never in your employ, Gurlukovich," Ocelot replied coolly.

"Are you… are you still in league with Solidus?"

"No hard feelings, Colonel. Mother Russia can rot, for all I care." Where was the popcorn when Liquid needed it?

"Since when, Ocelot? When did you turn?"

"I'm glad you noticed, _comrade_. I abandoned 'her' during the Cold War."

"You traitorous–" Gurlukovich was unable to finish his sentence, he was _that _enraged.

"Metal Gear only has room for one!" Ocelot called out dramatically, and Liquid just _couldn't _resist…

"No, actually, it's got- like- _barely _room for two people," Liquid called.

"_Shut up_, Liquid!" Ocelot shouted back up at Liquid. Six of the commandos apparently had the guts to run up and point their assault rifles at Ocelot.

"Gurlukovich, you and your daughter will die here," Ocelot said calmly.

"Does his daughter have to die too-?"

"SHUT UP LIQUID."

"Damn you!" Gurlukovich roared, pushing General Dolph forward so he could better get to Ocelot. Quick enough that bullet time would've been necessary to make it processable, Ocelot threw off his coat just right so it blocked Gurlukovich's vision. Both Gurlukovich and Ocelot fired through the duster, but only Ocelot's bullets hit anything substantial. The substantial thing being Gurlukovich and General Dolph. Ocelot wasn't done yet- before the six Russian commandos could react, Ocelot dropped his revolver and drew another one, pulling the trigger with lightning speed. All six mercenaries were hit, and they dropped to the floor without ceremony. And yet, now that both their commanders were dead, nobody shot at Ocelot! It was enough to make you heave.

Ocelot held the detonator up once again and shouted, "Show's over! If you wish to live, I suggest you run now! This ship is still in the Lower New York Harbor. You may yet make it to shore if you swim for your life!" With that, Ocelot pressed the button. The tanker rocked violently from side to side, nearly throwing Liquid off of RAY as an eardrum-shatteringly loud blast filled the holds. Several more equally loud explosions went off in quick succession throughout the several decks of the ships, and Liquid had to admit that the setting of the charges had been a damn thorough affair.

Chaos ensued.

The Marines and Gurlukovich mercenaries all began shouting in alarm, some firing their weapons at the enemy, while others ran for it like Ocelot suggester. Fire, smoke and sea water began to fill the holds. In less than thirty seconds, the water was up to everyone's waists. Liquid thanked god he was on top of RAY right then, but immediately felt a strange kind of panic. Where was Snake? Where was his brother? He hated to say it, but a sinking tanker would _not _kill Snake. It wouldn't kill anyone in their family, that was certain. Liquid had to kill him personally if it was going to happen here! Liquid's eye darted around the hold frantically- where was he?

Wait.

_There_.

Liquid could just make out Snake frantically wading through the water to try and catch Ocelot _just _on the edge of his blind spot! Now was his chance.

Liquid stood to his full height on RAY's head and called out, "It's been a while, Snake!" Both Ocelot's and Snake's eyes widened, and both heads turned to Liquid. Snake's jaw nearly dropped; there was a look of disbelief, and even a little horror. It seemed that Snake hadn't quite recognized Liquid's voice the few times he called out, either that or he tried to deny what he heard. But now he couldn't, because he was looking his brother- the brother he had seen die personally- with his own two eyes. And it was scaring the crap out of him. Just the reaction Liquid wanted. Liquid let out a brief cackle.

"How has my _favorite _brother been these past two years?" Liquid wondered mockingly as Snake struggled to point his sidearm at him; Liquid let out a brief scoff at that.

After a few seconds of silence, Snake exclaimed, "You're supposed to be DEAD! FOXDIE should've-"

Liquid let out another cackle, this one more wicked than the last; "FOXDIE? I survived a helicopter crash, you shooting missiles at REX while I was piloting it, falling _off _of REX, crashing into a snowbank, and dozens more improbably situations that I wouldn't care to name! And you _really _thought _FOXDIE _would do better than all of that! It's going to take a _lot _more than that to kill me, brother! I won't be felled so easily. That disease won't kill me, and I refuse to let anything else kill me until you've been wiped off the face of the Earth along with The Patriots. This, I swear."

Snake narrowed his eyes and growled, "I'm not going to let you kill me either, Liquid. I'm going to do what I should've done back on Shadow Moses- end this with my own two hands!" Liquid scoffed; it looked like that nerd had given Snake a lesson or two in making dramatic speeches.

"Trust me, brother, you did enough on Shadow Moses," Liquid growled in reply. "Let's see- you thwarted my plans for Outer Heaven, you kept me from achieving my destiny…"

_"Be careful out there," Liquid whispered, and Wolf just smiled at him. He could tell she wasn't entirely confident herself, but bless her heart she was trying to look that way for him._

_"Don't you worry, Liquid," she purred, "I'll be fine." She turned on her heel and made her way to the ice field… That was the last time he spoke to her…_

Liquid's composure snapped like a twig, and immediately he couldn't play cool and collected any longer. "You _killed FOXHOUND! EVERY LAST ONE OF THEM! I'll make you pay a thousand fold for them!_" Liquid opened up the cockpit for RAY and leapt in. Liquid flipped the activation switches, and RAY came to life with a mighty roar. The beastly machine immediately launched a volley of machine gun fire straight at Snake. Snake just barely avoided it, but Liquid would not give up because of a thwarted first attempt. He fiddled with the behemoth's controls until he found the anti-tank missiles, and shot two of them straight at Snake. Snake dove into the water to avoid them, and Liquid let out a curse before shooting two more missiles at Snake.

Ocelot gritted his teeth as he watched Liquid attempt to kill Snake; Snake couldn't die here, he was _essential _to his plans. Not their plans, but _his _plans. He had to keep them going… He couldn't become just their slave! Ocelot made a running leap from the platform into the cockpit of RAY. Liquid didn't notice him, since Ocelot had landed right on his blind side. Before Liquid could notice him, Ocelot grabbed the blonde 'Snake' in a head lock. While Liquid attempted to struggle out of Ocelot's hold, Ocelot reached past him and activated the water cutter. RAY dipped its head into the water, and after a few minutes, came back up and released the water it had absorbed into a powerful jet. The jet blasted through the air and through the wall. Ocelot dragged the jet down and through the wall. Immediately more water came gushing in, entirely filling the holds with water and hastening the ship's sinking. Ocelot piloted RAY out of the ship, and once it was a few meters away had it jump out of the water just once before going back under.

Only then did Ocelot release his headlock, and Liquid's eye was stuck wide in shock. Ocelot… Ocelot had just kept him from killing Snake. Liquid looked over his shoulder at the elderly Russian as he opened up his cell phone with a look of complete contempt- no, that didn't quite cut it. It was more like… _hatred_. Searing, burning hatred.

"No problems, preceding as planne-" Ocelot was cut off mid-sentence by Liquid turning around and immediately throttling the living Hell out of him.


	6. Chapter 5: Consequences

_LAST TIME, Liquid and Ocelot STORMED THE CASTLE- I mean tanker, Liquid and Ocelot glared at each other, Liquid found RAY and nearly had a freakout over memories of his dead fiancee, Liquid changed basically nothing by being there except for the amount of snarky comments made, Liquid TRIED to kill Snake using RAY, Ocelot hijacked RAY while Liquid was hijacking it, keeping him from killing Snake, and Liquid ended the chapter by strangling the elderly. LET'S SEE MORE OF THAT, SHALL WE :D I own nothing, god damn it it's been too long since I worked on this story, enjoy. Also, it's strange how much the Death Note soundtrack fits for writing Metal Gear Solid stuff o3o Also, italicized quotations have been extended to also represent people on the other side of a phone conversation. _

_**-Consequences-**_

Liquid squeezed down on Ocelot's throat with all his might, trying to cut off the older man's air supply and shouting, "WHY DIDN'T YOU LET ME _KILL HIM?_"

Ocelot struggled against Liquid's hold, trying to pry his hands away as he choked out, "They- needed him- _alive!_"

"Bull SHIT they did! All he was was a detriment to their plans! He didn't need to live, he could've died by whatever means necessary!" Liquid growled, squeezing even harder and making Ocelot struggle that much harder as well.

"He'll- drown- out there anyways!" Ocelot growled as he tried desperately to breath. Liquid's one smoldering green eye narrowed, looking like it could burn a hole straight through Ocelot's own eye.

"No, he _won't_! You KNOW he won't! Nobody in my family could ever die that easily, you should know that the best!" Liquid shouted, smacking the back of Ocelot's head against the walls of the cockpit and still keeping a firm grip on the man's neck. Ocelot kicked at Liquid's stomach in an attempt to dislodge the englishman, but it was no use. Liquid wouldn't budge, and Ocelot's vision was starting to tunnel.

"He's- part- of _my _plans!" Ocelot managed to shout. Liquid paused for just a moment as his eye widened just a bit, letting up on the pressure just enough to let Ocelot get one good breath of air.

Ocelot relished that breath, then looked Liquid directly in the eye and growled, "_You _were supposed to die and be my way out from under their thumb. Snake has taken your place, I need him alive for _my _plans to work and to get away from _them_." Liquid just stared at Ocelot, unable to tell whether or not the old Russian gunslinger was telling the truth or not. After about thirty seconds, Liquid decided that it really didn't matter. He kept one hand tightly wrapped around Ocelot's throat as he turned to RAY's control's and began to guide the Metal Gear through the water.

"What are you doing?" Ocelot asked warily, but Liquid just tightened his grip even more and muttered for Ocelot to shut up. Liquid made RAY swim to about a quarter of a mile out to sea from the Hudson river, then surfaced enough so that RAY was about halfway out of the water. Liquid wasted no time in opening up the cockpit and throwing Ocelot out of the Metal Gear. The elderly Russian landed in the water with an innocuous splash, and he resurfaced ten seconds after with the scowl to end all scowls etched deep into his face.

"You do realize how much you've pissed of both Solidus _and _the Patriots by throwing me out here, right?" Ocelot growled, glaring up at Liquid. Liquid, for the first time since they had left the Tanker, grinned a mocking and wicked grin, leaning on the edge of RAY's open cockpit.

"Not as mad as they _would _be if I had actually _killed _you," Liquid replied. "This marks the end of our cooperation, Ocelot. I no longer need you, and if you needed me then that's too damn bad~!"

Ocelot's scowl turned into a deep and semi-frightening snarl as he hissed, "I should've killed you myself back on Shadow Moses."

"The feeling is mutual," Liquid replied before closing the cockpit to RAY, diving back into the ocean and swimming away. Ocelot just sat there treading water and hating the English more than ever. Liquid piloted RAY about another quarter-mile out before he found a relatively large shoal he could stop off on. Liquid had parked RAY on it- which, lying down, took up about half of the shoal's surface area- while he attempted to contact Naomi over the Codec. It was slightly difficult, given his mostly remote location, but eventually he did reach her.

_"Liquid! Was the operation successful? Did you get RAY?" _Naomi asked, her codec image's eyes widening.

Liquid smiled semi-sheepishly and replied, _"Well, here's the good news: I stole RAY. Here's the BAD news though: I wasn't able to kill Snake, almost everyone that was on the Tanker ended up dead since Ocelot blew it up, and since Ocelot was the one who kept me from killing Snake, I _kind of _threw him into the ocean a quarter-mile off shore." _Naomi was silent for exactly thirty seconds before she let out a groan and her codec image facepalmed.

_"Well that's just _great_, Liquid! Now Solidus is going to consider us active enemies! _AND _you've landed us with a giant robot! We don't have anywhere to hide that thing!" _Naomi exclaimed. Liquid could just imagine the insane hand gestures she was making right now- she often _did_ gesture when angry.

Right then, Regina cut into the conversation with a grin on her somewhat distorted codec image; _"Actually, I happen to know of a warehouse we can store RAY in. It belongs to one of my contacts, I'll make sure he'll lend it to us."_

Naomi was briefly silent before she remarked, _"Well then, I guess we _do _have somewhere to put it… How we're going to get it there is another matter entirely." _

_"I could pilot this thing through the Hudson River until I'm in the general vicinity," _Liquid offered.

_"… Regina, can you arrange for a really large truck to meet Liquid when he's in the vicinity? We should be able to transport RAY to the warehouse in that," _Naomi said, entirely on board now. Liquid couldn't help but smirk at that.

_"Can do. I'm forwarding the map of New York to your Soliton radar, the rendezvous point should be marked by a blue dot," _Regina said, and sure enough the map popped up. _"I'll meet you there with the truck."_

_"Alright, good luck you two," _Naomi said, _"I'll be waiting at the warehouse, I just need to lock the apartment down so nobody breaks in while we're dealing with RAY." _Liquid nodded and ended the call, then hopped back into RAY and had it dive right back into the water. Getting RAY through the river proved to be the most difficult part of the transportation process, mostly because the water was so murky and full of pollution. Liquid's face had been frozen in a permanent grimace the entire time, and he just focused on the radar to get him through the river. Getting RAY _in _to the truck had been difficult as well, but it was more difficult along the lines of trying to do it without anyone noticing. They had caught one person who had seen, and Regina threatened him by saying her knife would go somewhere knives should never go if he told anyone about this.

Their next challenge arrived when they actually got RAY into the warehouse and met up with Naomi there. It consisted of getting RAY to stand up without falling over, almost ended up killing Naomi due to some weapon mishaps, and ended with Liquid having to lean RAY against the back wall until they got some proper cables or something to keep RAY supported from the ceiling and floor. Liquid jumped down from the cockpit after finally getting RAY to stay still, then turned to the severely frazzled Naomi and the very tired Regina there on the floor with him.

"… I suppose we'll have to move into the warehouse to keep an eye on RAY, won't we?" Liquid wondered.

"We probably won't even be staying _here _for very long," Naomi replied, calming down a bit, "This place is too easy to find, and someone could've followed us here tonight for all we know."

"That is correct." Everyone turned to see Fuujin standing a few feet in front of the front wall. She looked exactly the same as she had when Liquid and Regina had first encountered her, facial expression (or rather lack thereof) and all. The only difference was that she was holding an open cell phone in her left hand, but didn't seem to be speaking on it to anyone.

Liquid's eye narrowed and he snapped, "Who did you follow to find this place?"

"Solidus had given me the assignment to watch and follow Miss Hunter, so she was the one who unintentionally led me here," Fuujin replied in a perfectly flat tone. No emotions escaped, she was perfectly neutral. For some reason, this perturbed everyone else in the warehouse; she was something out of the uncanny valley, human and yet inhuman. Fuujin walked up with perfect poise to Liquid and handed him the cell phone.

Liquid raised an eyebrow, and Fuujin stated, "Solidus is on the other end. He wishes to speak to you." Liquid let out a small 'hm' and held the phone up to his ear.

"Hello there, Little Brother," Liquid couldn't help but drawl with a haughty grin. Naomi tried not to smack herself on the forehead- did he have to be so damn _arrogant _all the time?

_"Liquid, what the hell are you thinking?"_ Solidus growled through the phone. Liquid actually pulled the phone away from his ear slightly at he sudden increase in volume, but brought it back with his grin still present.

"I have no idea why you're so surprised," Liquid remarked, leaning back against RAY's leg, "Lying is as commonplace as breathing in our circles, you shouldn't have trusted me to begin with. And further, since I've broken off my alliance with Ocelot, I no longer have to work with you. You _did _say that if I worked with Ocelot, I had to work with you."

Solidus let out a small sound of displeasure before he said in a measured tone, _"Liquid, you've made quite a few new enemies by stealing RAY for yourself. If you let Fuujin take RAY back to me, I guarantee you'll have one less." _Liquid pretended to consider it, even making small thinking noises over the phone.

He then grinned even wider and replied, "Nope~! Sorry, Brother, but this is how it goes. I'm afraid that I need RAY far more than you or the Patriots do."

Solidus was silent for quite a bit before he growled, _"Put this phone on speaker." _Liquid raised an eyebrow, but did so and held the phone away from his ears.

_"Fuujin, take him down by force and steal RAY. That is an order," _Solidus barked from the phone. Fuujin just stared impassively at the phone while both Liquid and Regina frowned and reached for their weapons.

"I'm afraid I can't do that, sir," Fuujin replied in a perfect deadpan. "I joined you and worked for you because I had hoped you'd lead me to Jack. To put it frankly, I suspect that you've been using that agreement to your advantage. You have no intention of helping me. Therefore, I defected back to the Patriots just before the hijacking of RAY. I do not follow your orders anymore, sir."

_"The Patriots will use you to even further degrees, Fuujin!" _Solidus finally exclaimed. Regina actually flinched at how loud he was while Liquid's eyes widened at the composed ex-president loosing his cool. Fuujin just kept staring.

"That may be, but they have far greater resources at their disposal," Fuujin countered, "I can find him with those all by themselves, sir." Before Solidus could yell anything more at his ex-subordinate, Fuujin gracefully closed the distance between her and Liquid, grabbed the phone out of Liquid's hand, and hung up without a word. She then turned her dark eyes to Liquid.

"Now, to the _real _reason I'm here," Fuujin declared in perfect monotone. "I'm here to bring RAY back to the Patriots."

Liquid just raised an eyebrow and wondered, "If I wouldn't give it to Solidus, what makes you think I'll be so willing to give it to you?" Fuujin was perfectly silent; she couldn't come up with an answer, and that alone made Liquid smirk like the arrogant prick he was.

"You see, _this _is the reason why I should be allowed to use lethal force," Fuujin murmured to herself (STILL IN A DEADPAN!) before saying, "Indeed, you have a point. At this stage, I _would _be in the process of murdering you and the women, but since my new employers seem to have further plans for you, I can't kill you just yet."

Liquid narrowed his eyes and snapped, "You tell the Patriots to take those plans and-"

"I will do so, in far less vulgar language than you planned on using," Fuujin interrupted politely before turning on her heel and walking to the door. Regina was quick to block the way, pulling her knife out and glaring at the woman. Fuujin just stared blankly forward at Regina. Regina lost her nerve after staring at that perfectly emotionless face for two seconds and shuffled out of the way. Fuujin didn't say a word as she left, but she did nod curtly just before shutting the door.

"I don't think she was sparing you on the Patriots' orders," Naomi remarked, stepping forward.

"How do you figure that?" Liquid wondered, raising an eyebrow.

Naomi proceeded to explain, "The Patriots are ruthless and heartless, why would they just let you go like that? Any plans they'd have for you would probably only concern how to kill you, so why not take the opportunity now and just have Fuujin kill you? It just doesn't fit with them."

"But even so, why would someone that cold and emotionless hesitate to kill Liquid, especially if those were her orders?" Regina asked, walking over to Naomi and Liquid while fiddling with her knife.

"Maybe she thinks my being alive could help her find this 'Jack' she's looking for," Liquid suggested with a shrug.

"Solidus said she was a former child soldier, so he's probably one took… We're gonna have to look into this 'Jack'," Regina said.

"We're also going to have to find out why Snake was lured to the Tanker, since I seriously doubt Hal Emmerich's younger sister had anything to do with it," Naomi added. "_And _we're going to need to start moving around from place to place to throw the Patriots off of RAY's trail."

"Looks like we've got a _lot _to do," Liquid sighed. He smirked anyways as he looked up at the giant 'head' of RAY- hell, it had been worth it.

_This chapter is short because I wanted to get some of the immediate effects of the Tanker Incident out of the way before brainstorming about what Liquid and the girls would be doing in the two years between the Tanker and Plant chapters. Most everything 'original' I have planned is for _after _the events of Metal Gear Solid 2, so I'm kind of floundering about here. If you have anything resembling ideas that you think could work, hell, I'd love to hear them. I may not _use _them, but they may inspire me :D I'm sorry this wasn't worth the wait at all ;3; _


	7. Chapter 6: Suzaku

_GOD DAMN, BLACKSAND, HOW HARD IS IT FOR YOU TO FUCKING WORK ON YOUR STORY. … Ahem. LAST TIME, Liquid threw Ocelot into the ocean, ended up in a warehouse with his LADIES~, broke it off with Solidus, was creeped out by Fuujin, and last chapter was short and uneventful. This chapter is just a means to getting us into a safe place to time-skip, so it's going to be three-fourths badly written interactions and one-fourth badly written action. HUZZAH. However, before we begin, I'd like to plug a couple stories up on this site here. Why? Because I can, oh ho ho ho~ The first is Master of the Boot's story The Big Hellsing: The Forks Affair, a crossover between Hellsing and Twili- _SIT BACK DOWN_. The other is It Could Be Worse, a Metal Gear fic by RadarRun. Read them, OR I WILL FIND YOU. … I don't own anything, let's go~!_

_**-Suzaku-**_

Liquid unloaded nearly an entire magazine into the mercenary closest to him before shouting over his shoulder, "Go on! I've got them distracted, go!" Regina nodded and scrambled to the truck, giving Naomi the go-ahead to get the hell out of that particular warehouse. Liquid watched as the truck barreled through rows of mercenaries, and once it was out of sight Liquid reloaded the pistol before leaping from behind the concrete wall and shooting the rest of the mercenaries that were still on their feet (and still in sight- Liquid had a sneaking suspicion that a few were trying to use stealth on him).

Liquid cursed as he shot out of the warehouse and around the nearest corner; over the last month and a half he and the women had been smoked out of their latest hiding places more times than he could count, but he at least knew from Regina's recent annoyed mutterings that they were running out of places to hide in New York. And, considering the city's size, that was saying a lot. That thought could not have come at a more convenient time, because right as Liquid made it into the nearest street around the corner he was cut off by the last five mercenaries standing. All of them had their assault rifles pointed his way, and damn if they didn't look pissed. Liquid bit his lip; well shit. He was both outnumbered and outgunned.

"You've been running us all around this damn town," one of the mercenaries- Liquid suspected he was their captain, since he looked far more grizzled than the rest and was the one who barked out orders more often than not- growled, his teeth clenched in fury. "_Finally_, we've got you cornered."

Liquid had planned to stay silent and start shooting, but something right behind the mercenaries caused him to grin and brag, "Indeed, that'd be nice for you, but I'm afraid this is the part where she kills you."

The mercenaries turned to see Regina in the driver's seat of the truck and revving the engines threateningly, a wide grin nearly splitting her face in two; "Hello~! This is the part where I kill you~!" Without a second for the mercenaries to do a thing about it, Regina floored it and drove straight into the mercs, knocking them all over like bowling pins and running them over. Liquid began to run right as truck hit mook and leapt at JUST the right time, landing on top of the cab. He swung inside through the open passenger side window, basically landing in Naomi's lap.

"Wait, shouldn't we check to make sure they're all dead?" Naomi asked as Regina rapidly backed up and went speeding down the next street out.

"No time," Liquid replied. "Besides, they'll send different mercs after us sooner or later if those ones are all dead, so there's really no difference." Naomi just let out a frustrated sigh and rubbed her temples; all this running was even worse for her psyche than being in prison.

Regina drove like a maniac until the three members of Outer Heaven were as far away from the warehouse as was physically possible, which ended up being some empty lot in a part of the city not even Naomi knew the name of. There were barely any buildings in sight, and the ones they could see were agonizingly far away; it was just dead grass and light fog lit up by street lamps yards around. Somehow, they had managed to find the only truly deserted part of New York City, something Liquid saw as an accomplishment worth of a medal. Liquid and Naomi kept watch from the cab while Regina paced about right outside, apparently on the phone with one of her multiple contacts and speaking… Chinese?

"I didn't even know she knew Chinese," Liquid remarked as he watched the spy angrily converse with her contact.

"I've been meaning to ask you how you met her," Naomi noted, leaning back in the driver's seat, "But I didn't know if that was a sensitive topic or not."

"You can ask me whatever, you know that," Liquid replied with a smirk, "We _are _friends. Don't make me repeat that more times than necessary~" Naomi just chuckled, but didn't say anything. Liquid stayed quiet as well. Naomi's issues could work themselves out, and if he prodded any more she'd more than likely smack him.

"She and I met when I was still in the SAS. Regina was working for them, mostly because they were paying her," Liquid explained. "She was sent along with me into Iraq during the Gulf War, but she got away when I was captured. It wasn't until well into my time in FOXHOUND that I met up with her again and she offered to be my mole wherever I needed her. I have no idea why…" Naomi smiled and looked over to Regina; well, it looked like they had some common ground after all.

Regina growled, closed her phone, and hissed, "Damn it damn it _damn it_!"

"What is it?" Liquid asked, sticking his head out of the driver's seat window.

Regina clenched her teeth and growled, "Suchong won't let us use his fucking place, says we're too much trouble." Liquid let out a loud groan and face-palmed, and immediately Regina glared over at him.

"Don't act like this is my fault, Liquid! If it's anyone's fault it's yours," the Canadian woman snapped. Liquid stared at her with his one eye before glaring at her and attempting to open the driver's side door. It was locked.

"Naomi, unlock this door right now."

"So you can go out there and hit a woman? Hell no I'm not unlocking this door!"

"Do YOU want to be the woman I hit instead?" Naomi narrowed her eyes, and after a short pause she unlocked the door. Liquid nearly barreled out of it and stomped up to Regina, stopping so close that he was most definitely breaking Regina's 'personal space bubble'.

"How is it _my _fault, Regina? Explain to me in great detail how exactly this is my fault," Liquid growled. Regina continued to glare, not intimidated by the height advantage Liquid had over her.

"Well if you hadn't been so damn impulsive back on the Tanker we might still have Ocelot on our side! We wouldn't have to be running from _them_ every day!" Regina shot back.

"Oh, so you'd rather side with them than run from them? Glad to know you're so gutless, Regina," Liquid snapped.

Regina's eyes widened in indignation before she shouted, "Of course not, and don't you dare call me _gutless! _I risked my life for your goddamn Outer Heaven when I didn't even have to, and it got me stuck in prison and interrogated half to death!"

"Oh, so you'd risk your life then but not now? What's different, Regina?"

"Nothing, but-"

"So then what's making you into a coward, Regina?" Regina just stared at Liquid in shock before glaring bloody murder and pulling her butterfly knife out of her jacket.

"You know what? Shouting about this isn't going to help," the fair-haired woman muttered, "Actions speak louder than words."

"Though that was _terribly _cliché, I can't help but agree," Liquid hissed in return, reaching for his own CQC knife.

Naomi decided that enough was enough and jumped out of the cab and stomped over to stand between Liquid and Regina; "Both of you stop right goddamn _now!_ I don't know if you've realized this, but the only allies we have are each other. If one of us dies, the other two are royally screwed. I won't have either of you killing each other! Look, we're all high strung because of all this constant running, but that doesn't give us an excuse to kill each other. So, both of you: either solve your differences or walk away, or I am putting you _both _on time out!" Regina and Liquid both stared at Naomi with eye(s) wide before letting out a collective sigh and turning to each other.

"Now really isn't the time for snapping at each other," Liquid remarked. Regina let out a mumbled agreement before going back to pacing and calling, and Liquid just climbed into the back of the truck to sit with RAY. Naomi watched him go; it seemed that whenever the stress was getting to him, Liquid would just retreat to wherever they were holding RAY and sit there… Maybe sitting with the spoils of his betrayal on the Tanker convinced him that it had been worth it?

After God knows how long, Regina finally walked up to the cab with good news; apparently she'd been able to coerce 'Kowalski', a contact of hers in Queens, to lend them his warehouse for the night. However, they'd have to leave by morning, so that kind of sucked. When they got there, none of them left the truck. Liquid and Regina stayed in the trailer, watching directly over RAY, while Naomi stayed in the front seat and stared at the door to the warehouse until her eyes were tired.

"… What am I _doing _here," Naomi whispered, huddling into herself to keep warm- apparently, October in New York could be pretty damn cold. She could've gone on the lam at any second and not have to face the man she left with nothing every day, but here she was. She knew one thing, though: it wasn't love. She wasn't staying here because she had some bizarre crush on her dead mother figure's fiancee; Liquid wasn't her type anyhow. Blondes weren't her style, and all the ones she had dated had been insufferable douche bags. That was enough to turn someone off to an entire hair color. Also, there was the whole 'Wolf almost married him' thing to consider. And though Liquid insisted they were friends and that was why he came for her and was keeping her around, Naomi knew that all the friendship in the world wouldn't keep her rooted by Liquid's side under normal circumstances. Was she atoning for her sins? Well, this didn't seem like it was helping her atone or feel better about what she did… Naomi just sighed; this was why she nearly failed the psychology class she took in college. How could she figure out other people's issues if she was completely stumped by her own?

Naomi curled up into herself even further; if she were spilling her guts to Wolf about this, she just knew she'd have the answer. Wolf was good at the whole 'understanding her issues' thing. So was Frank… Naomi knew that now really wasn't the time to be thinking about her brother and Wolf. But she couldn't help thinking about the past; being all alone in dark and cold warehouses did that to people sometimes.

In the trailer of the truck, Liquid was sitting in the back left corner while Regina sat in the back right. That was nearly all the space RAY left, since the damn thing was so friggen' _huge_. Regina was huddled into a ball, trying to keep in some semblance of warmth while sitting against cold metal, while Liquid seemed to have absolutely no problem in the bone-chilling temperature. Well, he _had _gone shirtless in Alaska. Being shirtless in New York was a cakewalk compared to that. Liquid glanced over to Regina; the two of them had been sitting in perfect silence this whole time, both of them feeling too awkward to try and bridge the gap that last fight had created, but seeing Regina shivering in the corner was just too much.

Regina was shivering so much that it made her teeth chatter, but that ended almost immediately after a large black trench coat was gently dropped on her head. Regina blinked a few times at the sudden darkness before wrapping the coat around her and looking over; Liquid had settled himself next to her, and she was right in his blind spot.

"Can't have you catching cold, now can we?" Liquid murmured with a small wry smile. Regina smiled softly and nodded before huddling into the coat. It was nice and warm, and her shivering decreased monumentally. The two of them continued to sit in silence, and Regina nearly pouted at that fact; she had _hoped _the awkward gap had been bridged by what just happened, but apparently not.

After a while, though, Liquid spoke up just softly enough that Regina shouldn't have been able to catch it; "I'm sorry."

"For what happened back in that lot? Don't be, it was my fault," Regina replied, but Liquid shook his head.

"No, not for that. I'm sorry for dragging you into this whole mess, I know you didn't want anything to do with Outer Heaven and getting involved has brought you nothing but trouble," Liquid murmured. "I have a feeling that if you left now, you'd be able to go back to your life. You probably should, y'know. It'll be better for you, my allies have a habit of… dying. Gruesomely. Due to my mistakes, more often than not." Regina frowned and punched Liquid on the shoulder hard enough to make him flinch and give her a 'what was that for?' look.

"Shut up right now, I'm not backing out," Regina declared with a grin, "I left you once in Iraq, and I won't do it again." Liquid nodded slightly, but didn't say anything. Regina's smile fell, and she let out a sigh. Very _very _slowly, the Canadian leaned over until her head was on Liquid's shoulder. Liquid didn't notice it for a few seconds, but when he did, he skittered about a foot away before half-glaring at Regina.

"What are you doing?" Liquid snapped, eye narrowed defensively. Regina's large eyes widened in surprise before she let out a disappointed sigh and turned away.

"Nothing. I wasn't doing anything," she whispered, huddling deeper into the jacket so Liquid couldn't see her cheeks turn pink from embarrassment. Liquid was about to pry further before the Codec chirped obnoxiously in his ear. He analyzed the frequency before picking up- it was familiar, but he couldn't place who it belonged to just yet. Against his better judgement, the one-eyed Englishman answered anyway.

_"Listen closely and don't say a word," _a female voice coated in a thick Russian accent whispered from the other end of the CODEC, _"I only have fifteen minutes, _they _are running a manual diagnostic on their network and for that time they can't trace CODEC frequencies, but they _can _monitor this call. If you don't say anything, they can't figure out it's you." _Liquid's eye widened when he put all the pieces together; this woman…!

"What is it? You're getting a CODEC call, right?" Regina asked, furrowing her eyebrows and scootching slightly closer to Liquid. Liquid almost replied to her out loud, but to be safe he just retrieved his phone from the pocket of his coat and typed something in on the text messaging screen before showing it to Regina. Her eyes widened in shock as she read the message on the screen: _"Olga Gurlukovich." _

"I thought she died back on the tanker," Regina whispered, looking away disbelievingly. Liquid typed something else in, and Regina glared at him when she read it: _"You thought wrong."_

_"They have my child captive to make me cooperate with them, so I can't help you any more than this," _Olga continued in a hushed tone, _"But believe me, I want you to succeed more than anyone. I'm sending Naomi Hunter an address as we speak. Once this conversation is over, go to the address specified as soon as you possibly can, as quickly as you can. The door to the building you find there should be unlocked. Use what you find to help you. Also, before they began to run the diagnostic, they found your current location. Don't worry, you haven't been bugged, but if this latest attempt to kill you and recover RAY fails, they _will _bug you. They'll be at your hideout in twenty minutes, leave before they can get there. Good luck." _

The call abruptly ended, and Liquid had to 'blink' a few times to organize his thoughts before muttering, "Regina, stay back here with RAY. We're leaving."

"What? Why?" the Canadian asked, now more confused than ever. Liquid refused to answer, just leaping out of the trailer and running up around to the cab.

"Naomi, did you receive any kind of message just now?" Liquid asked, jumping into the cab and giving Naomi a very serious look. The scientist blinked a few times and was about to say 'no', but her phone began to vibrate before she could even utter that one syllable. She retrieved it from her jacket and opened it_, _her eyes widening at what she saw on the screen.

"Uhm, yeah. It's from a restricted number, though…" Naomi was cut off by Liquid snatching the phone out of her hand and opening the message. Sure enough, there was an address. As far as Liquid could tell (at least from the street), wherever Olga was sending them was right next to the Hudson River. He furrowed his eyebrows and let out a sigh; he hated that river like it was nobody's business.

"You mind telling me what's going on here?" Naomi asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Olga Gurlukovich just contacted me over the CODEC," Liquid explained, "She told me that she wanted to help, but since the Patriots are holding her child hostage she can only help us by giving us whatever is in the building at this address."

Naomi narrowed her eyes and said sternly, "How can we trust this information, Liquid? She didn't HAVE a child, last time I checked."

"She was pregnant back during the Tanker incident," Liquid explained as he reached over Naomi to start up the car.

Naomi's expression flattened and she asked in a deadpan tone, "How the HELL could you possibly figure that out without her telling you?"

"Until I figured out I was sterile, I kind of HAD to know these things without being told," Liquid replied. Naomi shook her head, convinced that she didn't need to know any more details than this.

"… Okay, let me guess. I won't be able to convince you not to trust her information because you have a 'gut feeling' about it," Naomi sighed. Liquid smiled pleasantly and nodded, which caused Naomi to slap herself on the forehead as Liquid got to starting the truck.

"I'll open the door," Naomi muttered, getting out of the cab to do just that. In minutes, the door had been opened and Liquid was driving the truck to the address faster than any speed limit anywhere would allow. Naomi spent the entire trip gripping her chair as tightly as possible with her eyes wide in terror, and neither of them had any idea what Regina was experiencing, although when they actually arrived at the location Olga specified and opened the back, Regina had ended up on the other side of the trailer and looked severely traumatized.

It was then made an official law of the three-person Outer Heaven that Liquid was not allowed to drive anything that wasn't a plane or a Metal Gear from then on out.

Anyways, the location they ended up in was a warehouse just on the edge of the Hudson river, and very close to where it let out into the ocean. The warehouse was large and nondescript, though the fact that it was _extremely _large was bound to draw some attention to it.

"What could Olga be keeping in here?" Naomi wondered as Regina got to work on picking the lock, eyebrows furrowed as she contemplated the sheer size of the building.

Liquid smirked and replied, "Whatever it is _has _to be good if it can only be held in a building this big~"

"Now Liquid, size isn't all that matters-" Naomi cut herself off when Liquid began to snicker; "That isn't what I meant and you know it! Agh, you're such a _child!_" To punctuate her exclamation, Regina finished picking the lock and kicked in the door.

Regina nodded and said, "Alright, go on in. I'll stay out here and guard RAY, tell me if this is something REALLY cool that I have to see ASAP." Liquid and Naomi nodded before going inside. The lights were off, of course, but when Naomi finally found the light switch and turned them _on_…

Liquid let out an uncharacteristically high-pitched squeal of joy at what he saw; right in the center of the warehouse (and taking up most of its width) was a gargantuan blue and black warship. It was shaped rather like an airship, but upon closer inspection one could see it had both submersible and land-cruising capabilities. There were automatic machine gun turrets spread across the hull, torpedo launchers, and missile launchers across the topside for offense, and the hull seemed to be made out of the same ceramic-titanium alloy as RAY. There was writing across the side in Russian, of course. While Liquid grinned like a maniac at the sight of the gigantic machine, Naomi just stared with eyes wide and jaw on the floor.

"… What _is that?_" Naomi asked, finally getting herself together.

Liquid was all too happy to explain; "_That _my dear is the RA-1001 Cherepaha, a Russian armored personnel carrier slash warship slash aircraft carrier~! It's large enough to hold us, RAY, and- not even a _small _army- a _large army! _It can be properly customized to even have flying capabilities to go along with being amphibious already~! And it's OURS! This thing is a beauty, I tell you, its hide is just about as strong as RAY's and its weapons are damn near unstoppable!" Liquid continued to gush over the warship while Naomi tried to look for a way into the damn thing.

"… The only thing that sucks about this thing is its name," Liquid sighed, right as Regina poked her head into the door to get a look at the Russian craft.

"What's its name? Like… what does it mean?" Regina wondered, tilting her head to the side quizzically.

"It's Russian for 'turtle'," Liquid replied.

"That's not _so _bad of a name, it implies that it's strong and stocky-"

"And _slow_."

"… I see your point. We should call it something else."

Liquid bit his lower lip and thought about that for a second before snapping his fingers and grinning; "I've got it! We'll call it the _Suzaku_!"

Regina quirked an eyebrow; "_Suzaku_? That's Japanese… Do you actually speak Japanese, or do you just like how it sounds?"

"Both," Liquid replied simply, and Regina was about to roll her eyes before she caught something out of the corner of her eye.

Her expression flattened and the Canadian woman muttered, "We've got company. Probably Patriot mercenaries, judging by how they're hidin' in the shadows and generally look pretty incompetent." Liquid frowned, and Regina paused to contact Naomi over Codec.

After a few seconds of 'silence', Regina hung up and continued in a hushed tone, "Alright, Naomi's got an idea of how the steering and acceleration controls work on that thing. If you wipe em' out with RAY, that should buy us some time to get away and throw them off our trail." Liquid nodded and darted into the cab while Regina disappeared into the newly christened _Suzaku_, closing and barricading the warehouse door behind her.

The Patriot mercenary captain watched all of this with a sharp eye, and after about a minute gave his men the signal to move; most of them surrounded the truck while a few of them got to work on the warehouse door. The soldiers surrounding the truck- all of them equipped with RPGs and other such heavy artillery- looked to their captain for the signal to open fire. The captain waited two seconds, but before he could give it Metal Gear RAY burst out of the top of the truck with a beastly roar. It landed on its feet, crushing a few soldiers before it knocked the truck (and _more _soldiers) into the river with a mighty sweep of its tail. The soldiers still standing opened fire, but they were no match for RAY; the RPGs did nothing but slightly irritate the beast's pilot, who retaliated by shooting them into bloody smears with the machine guns.

As the captain reasonably panicked and began to call in the sparse amount of reinforcements he had, RAY stabbed its two wings through the garage door of the warehouse, getting as good a grip as it could manage before tearing the door out of its rightful place. It then had to jump out of the way quicker than lightning as the _Suzaku _came barreling out of the warehouse and straight into the water; the resulting splash nearly knocked over RAY and washed away the very few survivors along with the approaching reinforcements. Liquid put a hand to his chin as the soldiers came rushing in, all of them trying in vain to attack RAY's hide with their inferior weaponry; hmmm, now this was a tough decision. Should he take them out on a more personal level with the machine guns, or more efficiently take them out with RAY's heavier armaments?

Liquid pouted as he made his decision; time _was _of the essence, after all… RAY leapt backwards into the water, another huge splash knocking over even more mercenaries; before any of them could even think of what to do next, RAY leapt back up out of the water, shooting a few anti-tank missiles and cluster bombs at the warehouse and the buildings to its left and right. They came crashing down on the mercenaries and their captain, crushing them all to death. Liquid let out a small cackle as he surveyed the scene and didn't find a single survivor; oh, it had been _too long _since he'd caused any kind of destruction~! So sad it was over so soon…

RAY dove back into the water and soon caught up with the _Suzaku _(passing by an odd structure being built over the remains of the USS Discovery); Regina opened up a communications channel between the two machines, an image of her appearing in the bottom-center of… well, Liquid didn't know what else to call it other than RAY's windscreen. The Canadian woman was beaming, which prompted Liquid to smile as well.

"Good job layin' those guys out!" Regina said with a laugh.

"Eh, it was nothing," Liquid replied with a shrug. "Though I _am _going to miss the lorry-"

"DON'T CALL IT THAT," Regina snapped, interrupting Liquid's britishism of the day. "It's a _truck. _Not a 'lorry', a _truck_."

Liquid glared at her and snapped, "Don't make me give up my britishisms! How would _you _like it if I demanded you stopped calling macaroni and cheese 'Kraft dinner'?"

Regina gasped dramatically before glaring daggers at Liquid; "You wouldn't _dare_."

Their argument over terminology was cut short by Naomi shouting from just out of the shot, "Would the both of you _shut up? _I'm trying to figure out how to stop this damn thing and your stupid arguments are _not helping_!" The Canadian woman and Englishman politely shut up, allowing Naomi to concentrate and finally stop the Russian craft a few miles off shore. And, after a series of events _way _too detailed to go into right now, RAY was making its home in a docking area originally intended for a submarine smaller than the _Suzaku_ and Liquid had made his way onto the bridge (where he was busy feeling important as he looked out of the front window).

"So how long do you think the air in this thing will last us for?" Naomi asked as she investigated one of the main two computer terminals on the bridge. Regina was somewhere in the lower areas of the _Suzaku_, doing some (in her words) 'adventuring'.

Liquid shrugged, "Well, it's supposed to be able to hold an army for months underwater, so I'd assume it'd hold the three of us for… I don't know, years?" Naomi's eyebrows shot up, but she smiled anyways.

"Well, looks like we've got a reliable base here," Naomi murmured to herself.

"Feels empty with just us, eh?" Liquid wondered, leaning against the wall and raising an eyebrow.

Naomi let out a soft chuckle; "Well then, we'll just have to find enough soldiers to fill it up~" Liquid blinked a few times in surprise; she actually sounded like she… actually believed they could do it. Liquid smiled and scratched the back of his neck- things were looking up, it seemed.

**1: Liquid only knows so much about the **_**Suzaku/Cherepaha **_**because he's a colossal nerd about military stuff.**

**2: I actually had to go on Wikipedia to confirm whether or not the british said 'windscreen' instead of 'windshield'**

**3: This chapter sucks, we're going to go through a semi-huge timeskip next one, I hope you all can forgive me, thank you and goodnight.**


	8. Chapter 7: Big Shell

_LAST TIME, Regina ran over some people after Liquid made a thinly veiled Portal 2 reference, arguments were had, people were almost stabbed, Olga donated a super awesome ship thing to the cause, there was half an action sequence with Ray blowing up buildings and crap, arguments were had over terminology, and now we're doing a time skip. THAT'S RIGHT LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, BECAUSE I COULDN'T BE ARSED TO FILL UP THE TWO YEARS BETWEEN THE TANKER AND BIG SHELL WE'RE JUST PLAIN SKIPPIN' DOWN THE LANE. So yeah, I only own the plot, all character design changes that go with it, and all original characters chucked into it. Let's rock~! Also, creative chapter title is creative._

_**-Big Shell-**_

The sky was clear and blue over New York City on April 29th, 2009. Well, except for the several military and police helicopters flying over the Big Shell facility in the Hudson River. The Verrazano Bridge was completely locked down as soldiers and policemen stood in alert position along it. Global positioning satellites were relaying data in real time to various monitors- including the main monitor (otherwise known as the main window) of the _Suzaku _deep in the ocean several miles away. The scope of the security guarding the plant was enormous, and rightfully so considering how important the plant in question was.

The Big Shell. A landmark, a symbol of environmental protection, the massive environmental containment unit was built to prevent ecological contamination due to the massive crude oil spill during the sinking of the U.S.S. _Discovery _two years ago. Naomi rolled her eyes as she heard those exact words from one of the many radio and Codec feeds she was monitoring from the bridge of the _Suzaku_- she knew that was bull, though she was only one of three people on the outside that did. _Speaking of outside_, Naomi thought to herself before opening up a communications channel between the _Suzaku_ and Metal Gear RAY. Another sub-screen of Liquid in RAY appeared on the screen, adding onto the metric fucktons Naomi was already monitoring.

Naomi adjusted the size of the subscreen a bit before saying, "Liquid, this is Naomi. How close to the Big Shell are you?"

"I'm just outside the oil fence, but I can barely see a thing out here through all this bloody _oil_," Liquid remarked, grimacing as he did. "Only the Patriots would go _quite _this far for a cover up- GAH!"

"What is it?" Naomi exclaimed, automatically assuming the worst since she could only see Liquid's extremely panicked face.

"Nothing, just a dead fish on my windscreen," Liquid muttered, shaking RAY's head a few times to get the fish out of his vision. Naomi rolled her eyes; well, this wasn't nearly as bad as the time they'd found that dead squirrel in the closet back at Ocelot's apartment.

"Anyways, I'll just go over the basic details again while you're breaking in there," Naomi began, her eyes flicking over to some new data coming in on the Navy SEALs being deployed to the Big Shell, "Six hours ago Solidus and his pet freak show Dead Cell seized the Big Shell facility with some help from the Gurlukovich mercenaries. They're _claiming _that their demands are thirty billion dollars, and since they've got the president and several other high priority individuals hostage they're in quite a position to get it. However, I have a feeling they're after the same thing we're after."

"Arsenal Gear," Liquid said with a grin, making RAY swim through the hole he'd just cut in the oil fence with RAY's water cutter.

"That's right, the Patriots' pet project," Naomi replied with a small smirk of her own, glancing over to the subscreen that held the most recent schematics Regina had been able to find. "A submersible, mobile fortress developed for the United States Navy, with the ability to monitor, block, and tamper with internet communications in other to further _their _goals. It also has access to the military's tactical network, giving it absolute control over the nation's armed forces and its nuclear arsenal. The big lug is also equipped with a few dozen nuclear missiles and a purified hydrogen bomb. It was _supposed _to have a few unmanned Metal Gear RAYs guarding it, but that project was never able to get off the ground since we kept the prototype RAY. And without a nuclear payload and full sea, land and air support it's nothing more than a big coffin. At the heart of it is GW, one of the Patriots' AI."

"So I'm taking advantage of this chaos to get into Arsenal Gear and destroy it," Liquid remarked. _And _maybe _hunt down Ocelot for some 'information'_, Liquid added mentally with a grin.

"Not just that. You're also going to try and steal GW itself. We can use it to our advantage, though _how _exactly we're going to do that is a work in progress," Naomi explained.

Liquid nodded before he pointed out, "I think I've found my way in. I'll call you when I'm feeling lonesome~"

Naomi rolled her eyes and said, "Alright, but remember it'll probably just be me you're talking to. Regina's in the city looking for more information, so if you want to talk to her you're out of luck. See you later." With that, Naomi closed the communications channel, leaving Liquid and RAY in silence.

Liquid let RAY slow down until it was completely at a halt, the machine treading water beneath the hatch to the Strut A Deep Sea Dock. Liquid bit his lip as he thought of RAY; what was he going to do with this thing? He looked around- the water was murky enough, and they were underneath a strut, so it wouldn't be _that _noticable… But still, he felt uncomfortable just leaving it there by itself. Liquid shook that thought off before using the water cutter to destroy the hatch. RAY swam up enough that its head was poking out of the infiltration pool (said head taking up nearly the whole thing), and went back to treading water while Liquid opened the cockpit and made his way out of the Metal Gear. Liquid gritted his teeth and put in a few commands on RAY's control panel before closing the cockpit.

RAY went into an energy-conserving 'stealth mode' (one of the few modifications Naomi had made during the past year) with those commands and sunk down several meters until it met the depth Liquid had specified. Liquid sighed and actually waved to the machine before turning to the deep sea dock. The place was dimly lit and completely deserted (except for some sea lice milling about by his feet, but Liquid wasn't sure if they counted or not). Nevertheless, the englishman's hand ghosted over the pistol in his coat before he quickly moved to the door.

The first thing he saw after opening the door was an unconscious Gurlukovich mercenary lying in the hall. Liquid raised an eyebrow, strolling over the unconscious operative and inspecting him. Apparently someone was doing his job for him… Liquid knelt down by the guard and pulled the tranquilizer dart out of his neck. This looked familiar… After a second, it hit him. This was for a SOCOM pistol. Nobody used that kind of gun anymore except for one man.

Liquid smirked a wicked smirk, got to his feet, and called Naomi on CODEC; "Naomi, my dear, it looks like this mission just got a _lot _more interesting."

_"What do you mean?" _Naomi asked, looking slightly troubled by this new piece of 'information'.

"I've found a SOCOM-model tranquilizer round in the neck of a downed Gurlukovich mercenary. My favorite brother is here on the Big Shell~!" Liquid chirped. Yes, he literally chirped. Naomi's eyes widened on the Codec monitor.

_"Whoa, uh… Well, I'm going to try and confirm this with Regina. All I can say is don't let your desire to engage him get in the way of the mission. Please," _Naomi said steadily. Liquid pouted, but gave her a quick 'fine' before proceeding onward. And promptly being distracted by a door right next to him. Liquid stared at it for a few seconds before throwing caution to the wind and walking out it. It lead out to a platform just over the water that didn't lead anywhere. It was just kind of… there. Liquid stood there for a few minutes, eye narrowed as he contemplated this door and this platform's reason for being.

Two seconds later, the Brit closed the door behind him before shouting, "Why in the world is this even _here_?" Architectural concerns aside, Liquid turned around and looked up; it looked like he could climb this wall and get up to the roof of Strut A. Experimentally, Liquid pulled out one of the two knives he'd brought with him and stabbed it into the wall just above the door. Liquid smirked at his success before pulling out his other knife, stabbing _that _into the wall just a few inches above the other knife, and used that method to climb onto the roof. Liquid leapt over the railing and grinned at his knives in appreciation. Liquid stretched looked around the roof; the sky was clear and bright.

"A beautiful day for a terrorist attack," Liquid muttered, but his smirk fell when he heard the elevator rising to the roof. Quicker than a mouse and just as quietly Liquid darted behind a few crates as the elevator reached the roof; the englishman contemplated just waiting for whoever was up here to clear out of there before he could move on, but curiosity got the better of him and he warily looked around the edge of the boxes. His eye widened; standing on the recently arrived elevator was a young man in a sneaking suit (better yet, a _FOXHOUND _sneaking suit) with effeminately handsome features and long, white-blonde hair. His blue eyes were sharp and clear as they contemplated the clear blue of the sky, and Liquid found his own green eye magnetized to him as he dashed behind some crates (perhaps to make a CODEC call, Liquid had no idea). He looked… competent, skilled… interesting. _Very _interesting indeed.

His own CODEC chirped annoyingly in his ear, breaking him out of his trance long enough to answer it- Naomi's voice began to speak in his ear; _"You were right about Snake, Liquid. I hacked into Philanthropy's network- turns out Emmerich found out about Arsenal Gear a few months after the Tanker incident, and around the time Olga gave us the Suzaku. They've been planning an attack on it for the past year and a half now- they finally found their excuse today. Apparently Emmerich is also somewhere on the Big Shell, but I have no idea where he is or what his role in his and Snake's plan is supposed to be."_

"I see. … Naomi, were any lone operatives other than Snake sent into the Big Shell by any organizations? There's a third- second, if you're not counting me- intruder here, a young man in a FOXHOUND sneaking suit," Liquid reported, still intently focused on the stack of crates the young operative was behind.

_"Liquid, I swear you're telepathic or something. I was just about to tell you about that after I told you about Snake," _Naomi answered in a bewildered tone. _"The Patriots sent in an agent code named Raiden, given name Jack Sears. Regina's working on digging up more about his mission- since we currently can't find anything in their network about it- but we know he's the 'Jack' that Fuujin was searching for. He's a former child soldier from the Liberian Civil War, just like her."_

"If she shows up on this thing looking for him this will officially be the worst mission I've ever been on," Liquid muttered.

Naomi smiled and replied, _"Don't get too hasty now. You know we've been keeping tabs on her, and she's not even in New York right now."_

Liquid let out a sigh of relief; "Thank _God _for that."

_"Continuing, the kid's _official _orders are to disarm the terrorists and rescue the hostages," _Naomi continued. _"Satellite photos confirm that the hostages are in the Shell 1 Core, so he'll be heading there. Stay out of his way and you should be fine."_

"I don't know… He looks quite interesting," Liquid remarked, smirking again as 'Raiden' appeared again and ran to a stairwell leading back down into the strut.

Naomi scowled at Liquid and snapped, _"Liquid, he's working for the Patriots. He may not know it, but he is. Don't engage him, that could blow everything for us." _Liquid promptly ignored that advice and signed off before looking over to the Shell 1 Core. If Solidus was as trusting as Liquid thought, he'd probably put Ocelot in there with the hostages. Liquid smiled; oh dear, looked like his and Raiden's paths _just happened _to cross~! Well, there wasn't _anything _he could do about that now was there? Liquid glanced back down at the A-B connecting bridge; two sentries were stationed on the bridge while a flying CYPHER camera was patrolling the air right over the bridge. Liquid pulled his sidearm out of his jacket and took aim, shooting down the two guards and CYPHER in three shots. Liquid's smirk widened; thank goodness his eye had adapted to flying solo, otherwise he would've missed by a mile.

Liquid vaulted over the side of the roof and onto the bridge and ran across to the other strut right as Raiden came out of the door to the bridge. Liquid ducked out of sight, but kept an eye on Raiden. The young operative stopped in his tracks for a second before warily approaching the bodies. When he was sure he was really dead, he muttered something under his breath. Liquid narrowed his eye and tried to read his lips… "So there really _is _someone else here"? What did he mean by- oh, he probably saw Snake's handiwork. Liquid couldn't keep watching, not only because he needed to get further into the strut, but also because he smelled… blood. Liquid looked over his shoulder at the corridor; sure enough, the floor and walls were covered in the stuff. Cautiously he made his way into the transformer room, but before he could analyze the room in detail he had to duck behind a generator as Raiden made his way in right on his heels.

The young operative was holding his M9 out in front of him, alert and ready if whatever had caused all this bloodshed decided to come for him next. He took a minute to glance at the three dead SEALs on the floor before following the trail of blood further into the room. Liquid took a minute to glance around the room himself- it was dimly lit, but only because all the light fixtures had been destroyed, giving the room an oddly solemn feel to it. A feel soon broken by a burst of gunfire and loud shouting.

"Damn!"

"Fire!"

"I can't hit him!"

"What kind of freak is he?"

The radio blasted in at that point, some commander shouting through it generic cries for the SEALs to respond. Liquid couldn't see the action from here- it was blocked by a large bank of transformers- but as far as he could tell there were four soldiers still standing at this point. The current shouts were cut short, and heavy footsteps rushed into the room (approximately three more people, by Liquid's estimation). Liquid frowned- their opponent, whoever they were- wasn't making any sound at all… He was far too skilled for these foot soldiers to deal with. Liquid took that moment to dart to the other edge of the transformer bank where Raiden couldn't see him while he watched the action.

"Where did he go?"

"What the hell was it?"

Something caught his eye on one of the catwalks above the soldiers. A semi-greasy looking man with long black hair and a goatee in a long, dark olive drab coat was crouched up there, lying in wait with a knife in hand. Liquid narrowed his eye; this man looked familiar, but he couldn't quite place him. Before Liquid could even begin to contemplate where he knew this man from, the caped figure leapt into the air, arms outstretched. The soldiers fired wildly at him, but every shot missed their target. The enemy landed on the floor and, with a kind of grace that reminded him of a certain Greek ex-FOXHOUNDer. performed a perfect pirouette. His blade cut the SEALs' arms into ribbons, and the men let out cries of pain and horror as their blood sprayed in all directions. A bit even got on Liquid's face, much to his disgust.

The enemy then aimed for the men's throats, slitting them with ease and precision; the SEALs' let out strangled cries before crumpling to the floor in silence. A radio on the ground continued to sputter, the man on the other end desperately calling for the soldiers to answer. Nobody did. Nobody could. Liquid grimaced as the man took one of the limp SEALs in his arms and dipped him low, sinking his teeth into the man's neck and sucking the blood out of it. Liquid's jaw nearly dropped at the sight; it was like a tango gone horribly wrong. Suddenly the vampiric man looked up- Liquid followed his predatory gaze to the area Liquid had last seen Raiden scurry off to. His eye widened, and he feared for the young operative's innocence as the enemy licked the blood from his mouth and bared his fangs. He hissed at Raiden before smiling a smile that made Liquid feel nine different kinds of uncomfortable.

The unearthly man retrieved a knife from somewhere Liquid really didn't want to think about, pointing it towards his own bare chest. There were four long, fresh lacerations on his exposed flesh, surrounded by similar but much older scars. Slowly and deliberately, the unsettling man made another mark from left to right.

"Five today," he snarled. "Or rather, six?" Liquid had a feeling that the only words going through Raiden's mind were _oh crap_. The vampire completed his thought by leaping acrobatically through the air and landing without a sound just out of Liquid's field of vision and presumably behind Raiden.

Liquid bit his lip, wondering whether or not he should do something to save the young operative, then wondered why he was even wondering about the first thing in the first place, but was snapped out of that when a voice he'd been _longing _to hear shouted, "Get down!"

Liquid grinned and leaned into the transformer on instinct. Ah, _Snake_. He'd been right, Naomi's information had been right… This was going to be the best mission _ever. _Liquid ran back to his first hiding spot to get a better view of the action as gunfire erupted from above. When the smoke cleared, the vampire was nowhere to be seen. Snake descended a ladder and faced Raiden. Liquid smirked- how very clever of his brother to disguise himself as one of the SEALs. His face was covered by a balaclava, but Liquid could recognize those piercing blue eyes anywhere.

"Where is he?" Snake asked. Raiden didn't answer, but he didn't have to; as Snake approached the young operative at a cautious pace, the enemy dropped noiselessly from his perch, knife flashing in the darkness over Snake's arm. Blood spurted from multiple wounds on the soldier's limb, and his rifle fell to the floor with a clatter; before Snake could do anything about that, the monster grabbed him with one hand, lifted him up with ease and pinned him to a wall. Liquid gritted his teeth and gripped his pistol- _nobody _could kill his brother but _him_. The extremely creepy man studied him like a predator would examine exotic prey. Raiden got to his feet and aimed at the creature, but couldn't shoot him; Snake was in the way, apparently.

Liquid was just about ready to spring into action as the vampire leaned in to bite Snake's neck, but instead of biting down he sniffed loudly and Liquid hesitated.

"Hmm… Strange smell," the enemy hissed; suddenly he jerked away and let Snake fall to the floor. "You smell like…! Are you…? It has to be!" Liquid narrowed his eye; the terrorists knew of Snake, hm? Now _this _was interesting. Snake rolled across the floor, clutching his bruised throat.

He managed to shout at Raiden, "Shoot him! What are you waiting for?" Raiden started just a bit- jolted back to his senses, Liquid supposed- and pulled the trigger. The monster performed another pirouette and effortlessly deflected the bullets. Raiden emptied his entire clip, but the vampire still stood.

As Raiden cast aside the spent magazine, a radio attached to the vampire's waist crackled to life, and a woman's voice came through; _"Vamp!"_ Liquid's eye widened; aha, so _that's _where he remembered him from! He'd seen Dead Cell's personnel files back with FOXHOUND, he should've recognized this freak from the minute he started drinking people's blood. But even then… he still knew he'd seen this man in person. _Somewhere_…

Vamp lifted up the radio and answered, "Yeah, Queen?"

_"Are you all done cleaning up?"_

"Yes. But wait until I tell you what I found…"

_"Something interesting?"_

"I'll tell you in person. Where are you?"

_"In the central unit, with the President."_

"Be right there."

Raiden reloaded his weapon right as the conversation ended and took aim, but Vamp spun around in his cape… and disappeared. The room fell into a calm silence, minus Raiden and Snake's heavy breathing and the far away sounds of seagulls. Liquid realized he'd been tense through that entire experience, and allowed his muscles to relax. He quietly moved into the hallway just off the transformer room- hey, didn't need to _see_ Snake and Raiden talking, though he wouldn't object to overhearing them.

"Hold on!" Liquid heard Snake shout to Raiden. "I'm not an enemy. Calm down." Liquid raised an eyebrow- had the kid turned his gun on him? He'd saved his ass! The englishman then shrugged; the kid _was _a former child soldier, somewhere along the way he'd probably been taught to always have a firearm at the ready when breaking the ice.

"My name is…" Snake paused to check himself, took a breath, and continued, "My name is Pliskin. Iroquois Pliskin. Lieutenant Junior Grade." Liquid wanted to burst out laughing; _first _Snake pauses when trying to come up with an alias, then comes up with _that_? Wow, just _wow_. Had he been afraid of sounding too _plain_, or had he stolen this identity from some poor sap who was actually named Iroquois Pliskin? Liquid felt genuinely sorry for the poor bastard if the latter was actually the case.

Raiden was quiet for a bit before he asked, "Are you a Navy SEAL? How did you get in?"

"Fast rope descent from a Navy chopper," Snake replied indifferently. Once again, Raiden stayed quiet for a bit. Kid was suspicious, and Liquid couldn't blame him. Snake was a naturally shady looking guy. He held back the urge to sigh right then; it wasn't like he was any better, with his black long coat and distinct lack of a shirt. He'd gotten arrested multiple times in many different countries for the latter.

"Have I seen you before?" Raiden finally asked.

Snake promptly ignored that by asking, "That suit. Are you FOXHOUND?"

"That's right," Raiden reluctantly replied.

"FOXHOUND was disbanded," Snake remarked matter-of-factly. Liquid frowned and bit the inside of his lip; Snake would know _all _about that, wouldn't he? Liquid was about to continue listening, but something distracted it. That something being a presence _right behind him_. He could feel breathing in his right ear, but _damn it _he couldn't see whoever was there. But he had a pretty good idea. Liquid slowly turned his head to look whoever was taking advantage of his blind spot straight in the eye. And he nearly jumped a foot in the air. Vamp was leaning over his shoulder, smiling that creepy smile and giving him the most _hungry _look he'd ever seen from a person before. Liquid just kind of stood there, completely frozen. Something about _this _situation seemed vaguely familiar as well. He tried to conjure up the precise moment, but all he could find were fuzzy images of a desert and… Big Boss?

"You and your brother have the exact same scent," Vamp hissed, getting even closer to Liquid (if that was even possible). "It's been quite a while since that incident in Egypt, Liquid. Do you still remember me?" Liquid didn't answer; he just settled for staring at the unsettling man and trying his hardest not to freak out.

Vamp shrugged lightly and said, "Well, even if you don't, I _definitely _remember you." Vamp leaned in as close as he could and licked the blood that had spattered on Liquid's face; now _that _was the last straw. Liquid immediately drew his knife and slashed at Vamp's throat, causing the vampiric man to dodge and leap backwards, drawing his own knife when he landed.

"I don't care _what _happened in the Egypt, though I have a feeling it more than likely wasn't consensual," Liquid began, gritting his teeth, "But you _will. Not. Lick. Me._"

Vamp let out a small chuckle; "Don't worry, you'll get used to it… But for now, my Queen needs me. _A se vedea mai tarziu, draga~_" With another spin of his coat, Vamp was gone before Liquid could even blink. Liquid shuddered; Romanian wasn't one of the seven languages he spoke, but Liquid had a feeling Vamp had said something horribly creepy. And he was probably right. Liquid called Naomi on Codec; she _had _to know something about this.

"Naomi? Uhm… Was there _ever _a time when FOXHOUND and Dead Cell met up or worked together or something?" Liquid asked as she picked up.

Naomi smiled nervously and replied, _"Oh, right… Well, you remember when your not-quite-dead-but-still-a-ghost-Dad possessed you?" _

Liquid frowned as he walked back out of the strut and began to look for a good place to climb up to the roof; "Don't remind me."

Naomi promptly ignored that remark; _"Well during that time FOXHOUND went on a mission to rescue half of Dead Cell when they'd been taken hostage by some terrorists in Egypt. From what Raven had told me after the fact, Vamp was quite… taken with you, or rather your body while Big Boss was inhabiting it." _

Liquid shuddered as he stabbed his knife into the side of the strut and started climbing; "Ugh, add _that _to the list of people who've had a crush on my dad."

He heard some paper rustling on the other end before Naomi asked, _"Does your mom technically count for that list?"_

Liquid blinked once at the fact that Naomi actually had a physical list for that before replying,"I _guess_, since she did kinda fall for him after already attempting to seduce him all Bond Girl-like, but I have no idea if that counts."

_"I'll make that a technicality," _Naomi replied before signing off. Liquid had to shake his head at the thought that there was an actual physical list of the people who'd had a crush on his father, but continued climbing nonetheless. When he reached the roof, a glance of the Shell 1 Core brought him back to the mission at hand. That's right, he had to find a way in there. Well, the closest way he could see was the B-C connecting bridge… which was currently being overrun by soldiers? What the-? Liquid crept closer to the edge and behind some cover, but he stuck his head out so he could see what all this commotion was. One of the first thing he noticed was the cries of seagulls. They were flying in droves around the Shell's Strut roofs, cawing loudly and remind Liquid of a murder of crows. He drew his attention away from the seagulls and onto the soldiers on the B-C connecting bridge and its T-bridge to the core. Their rifles were trained on the door at the end of the T-bridge. A man in a suit lay unconscious on the bridge, a square, black briefcase next to him.

The SEALs shot at the door, but the bullets didn't enter. Liquid adjusted his position to get a better look; there was a figure in the doorway, just standing there… but the bullets never hit them. This was looking all too familiar. The SEALs kept firing and firing without cease until the figure stepped out into the sunlight. Liquid's eyebrows shot up at what he saw; it was a tall, slender, African-American woman with long, curly blonde hair. She carried herself in a very regal manner, almost like royalty; a black leather coat was draped over her shoulders, but other than that she was wearing what looked like a black bathing suit and combat boots. Liquid couldn't help but stare at her long _long _legs… Before slapping himself and thinking over and over that he had a dead fiancee. His mind was drawn away from her legs by the gigantic rail gun- a Lockheed RG-590 Experimental Aircraft Rail Cannon. Liquid's jaw nearly dropped again; he could understand someone like Raven carrying a gun that size, but this woman was barely taller than Naomi, with at least as much muscle mass! How in the name of _God _was she carrying that thing around? … And deflecting bullets, that too.

She didn't seem to care one bit that she was being shot at, just walking ahead to the unconscious man on the bridge and nudging him with her boot. Liquid narrowed his eye- was that the President there? He had no idea- he didn't pay a lick of attention to American politics. The SEALs opened fire on here once more, but the bullets still failed to hit her. Liquid frowned, there was no mistaking it now; that field generator had disappeared days after they'd gotten it… how did it end up with _her_? Ocelot more than likely was involved with _that_, his conscience immediately answered.

The woman turned to the soldiers and called, "Come on! Put me out of my misery!" There was no taunting in that voice; just a melancholy timbre to emphasize an obviously troubled soul. She didn't have an accent- she was American. The gunfire continued in vain, hitting everything but her. The seagulls flocked around the woman; Liquid winced- that was kind of _weird_. He could hear the SEALs from the bridge.

"This is impossible, nothing will hit her!"

"Is she the one they call Fortune?"

Another figure emerged to join 'Fortune'. Liquid stopped breathing for half a second- it was Vamp. The inhuman man nodded to Fortune and picked up the President, slinging him over his shoulder like he was a sack of potatoes. He grabbed the black case, then turned to Fortune once more.

"Queen," he said simply. Fortune nodded, and Vamp took the President back into the core.

"Don't let them take the President!" Liquid heard one of the SEALs shout.

"Ready grenades!"

One of the soldiers fired a grenade from the launcher built into his M4; it flew straight for the woman, then anticlimactically dropped right in front of her feet without detonating. Liquid shook his head. This wasn't going to end well.

"A dud?" The SEALs moved closer, and Fortune wearily looked to them as if they were nothing more than an inevitable inconvenience to her.

"Today is another bad day," she sighed. She effortlessly swung the Rail Cannon into a firing positing, spooking the seagulls into scattering. "Is there anyone here that can give me happiness?"

She pulled the trigger and mowed down the SEALs in seconds with whines of linear fire. They all let out cries of terror and pain, and the rifle kept firing with an eardrum-shattering sonic boom. Liquid just stared at the spectacle- there really was no kill like overkill. The rounds cut through the bridge, tearing it to pieces just like the soldiers. The conduit tilted and creaked from the stress, a few coils of support wires being sheared off in the middle and a section of the bridge breaking away. Two of the men went sliding down the destroyed, dangling platform to their watery grave. One lone, surviving soldier was still clinging to the edge of the broken bridge, right at Fortune's feet. At her mercy. He struggled to retain his grip and looked to the woman with pleading eyes. She just stared back at him impassively and waited the few seconds it took for him to lose his grip and plunge down into the water below.

Liquid cursed under his breath; his route to the core was completely gone. No bodies were left on the bridge. The seagulls continued to fly around Fortune, cawing like nothing had happened. One bird, however, had been caught in the crossfire and lay at Fortune's feet.

"I'm so sorry, my beauties. I'll see you again someday," she said. The woman turned and walked back into the central core, humming sorrowfully to herself. Liquid was starting to lose count of how many times this place was being plunged into silence after extremely loud and chaotic events.

He stood up straight and sighed. Time to find an alternate route.


	9. Chapter 8: Plant Sneaking

_LAST TIME, Liquid stealthed his way up to the Big Shell while in a giant robot, was all giddy because Snake was there, somehow managed to stab through solid steel and climb up the side of an hexagonal building, saw Raiden, decided to stalk Raiden, got creeped on by Vamp, ogled Fortune's legs, and generally did nothing. Now, the thrilling continuation! Also, before we begin, I'd like to point something out. Liquid's method of travel on the outside of the struts takes quite a bit more time than it looks like from here. Here's a bit of context: In the time it's taking him to get across/through one strut, Raiden has already gone through two of them. That's just some set up. I don't own the Metal Gear series or any characters/concepts/what have you from it. All I own is this fanfic, any changes in character design the fanfic brings with it, the multitude of original characters, and the laptop I'm using to write this fanfic. Let's roll. But, before we do, take a shot for every time I use the words 'bridge' and 'strut'~! Also, make yourself some coffee and get something to eat. This is a long one.  
_

_**-Plant Sneaking-**_

Liquid looked around the roof before climbing to the top of the tallest stack of boxes out there and surveying the Big Shell from a bird's-eye view. He needed to find the other connecting bridge, and after several seconds of looking over the facility, he found it… On the complete other side of the shell. Liquid sighed; going clockwise around the shell to get there would be just as tedious and possibly twice as long as going counterclockwise back the way he came. He eyed the broken t-bridge just below him- he _could_, in theory, jump the gap, but he didn't have enough room to run and pick up speed. So _that _was out of the question.

He literally left the decision up to a coin toss, heads for clockwise and tails for counterclockwise. It landed heads. With much grumbling, Liquid hopped off the roof and onto the bridge below. Raiden had apparently made his way across while Liquid was surveying the facility, since the young operative was nowhere to be found on the bridge. Liquid smirked; if he knew the Patriots, the kid was probably caught up in a conversation full of repetition and facts nobody cared about with someone ultimately inconsequential. That tended to happen on missions they were in control of.

Liquid made his way across the bridge, but stopped short just as he was about to enter Strut C. He frowned; going through the buildings would require _so _much more work, and climbing around _on _them had been working very well so far… within seconds, Liquid was hanging off of the strut by his knives, slowly working his way around the side of the building. As he made his slow as hell climb around the strut, Liquid just _had _to wonder what the hell these units were even _made _out of, given that he could stab them and climb around on them so easily.

"Whoever built this place is an idiot," Liquid muttered to himself at the half-way point. Liquid continued to 'climb' along until he was just a few feet from the bridge. He frowned- apparantly he wasn't going to get lucky on _this _bridge, since there were two sentries patrolling it. He quickly rearranged himself so he was lower down on the strut; it would've been nice to kill the men, but he was running a _bit _low on ammunition. He'd need that for such important tasks as shooting Ocelot in the (non-prosthetic) hand, shooting Ocelot in the kneecaps, and shooting Ocelot in the face. No, he'd have to settle for sneaking past them, and that would be _pretty _difficult to do without a cardboard box at his disposal. Liquid bit his lip and climbed down far enough that his hands were level with the bridge before inching along the side of the building at a snail's pace. When he was right next to the bridge, Liquid abandoned one of his knives to grab onto the bridge. With his other hand he retrieved the knives, and once both hands were securely on the bridge Liquid began to 'scuttle' (as much as one could scuttle with their hands) along the bridge.

When Liquid finally reached the other side of the bridge, a dissatisfied frown had plastered itself on his face. He _really _should've just chanced killing the guards by hand, because this was boring as all hell and his arms were starting to hate him quite a bit for this kind of abuse. Liquid stopped right as he was next to Strut D before glancing at his surroundings. His frown deepened- well shit. If he wanted to avoid the sentries AND keep climbing around on the strut, he'd have to stay at the bottom and increase his already ridiculously high chances of falling to his death until he reached the side. Either that or he'd have to go along the _bottom _of the strut, which didn't seem either safe or _sane_. Well, then again, that last part wasn't really much of a problem since Liquid wasn't exactly a paragon of sanity.

The englishman rolled his eye and muttered, "Oh, screw it." With that, he effortlessly climbed up onto the bridge, startling the nearest sentry. The Russian reached for his radio, but before he could alert his superiors of the intruder facing him Liquid had kicked him hard enough in the stomach to knock the wind out of him. The sentry doubled over in pain, which gave Liquid the perfect opportunity to snap his neck. The second sentry was a second away from opening fire on Liquid, but Liquid had grabbed his rifle and smacked him across the face with it before he could say _"osʹminog"_. He went down like a ton of bricks, and the minute his head hit the bridge Liquid opened fire at point-blank range with the rifle, killing the man instantly and turning his face into an unrecognizable bloody mess. Which is typically what happens when you shoot someone in the face with an assault rifle.

Liquid smiled a cheery smile before casually tossing the two sentries off the bridge and into the sea. His smile only widened as they hit the water with a loud _'splash'_. Suddenly, Liquid got an idea. A horrible, _horrible _idea.

He looked around before saying to himself with the cheesiest grin ever, "I guess you could say that I'm making quite the _splash _around here~!" Liquid then proceeded to snicker like an idiotic ten year old. Once he'd gotten the pun out of his system, he then looked over the rifle- it was different than the other rifles he'd seen the soldiers carrying, and it looked quite a bit more powerful as well. The soldier had probably been keeping it a secret, only bringing it out now since this mission was of special importance. Liquid let out a small 'hmm' before shrugging, smiling yet again, and storing it in one of the larger inner compartments of his jacket.

Making a mental note to thank Regina's previously undiscovered sewing skills for creating said compartments earlier that year, Liquid nodded to himself and began a brand _new _climb around the side of Strut D. The climb was uneventful… until Liquid reached the halfway point. He was inching along normally, ripping his left knife out of the side of the strut and was about to stab it into the wall a little ways over, but before he could a loud rumble shook the entire plant.

Liquid's right knife was nearly forced out of the strut- he had just enough luck to stab his left knife back into the wall and hold on for dear life. He could hear the unmistakable roar of an explosion not too far away… Well, _that _certainly wasn't good. The tremor persisted for well over a minute. Liquid's eye had gone wide when the shaking began, and nearly five minutes after it had stopped it was still wide. Liquid hesitantly looked into the sky; a dark cloud of smoke was creeping up into the blue.

Liquid blinked a few times to get his bearings before calling Naomi on the Codec; "Naomi… I think something just exploded."

Naomi's image on the Codec monitor winced a bit; _"Uh, yeah. Something did. Strut H, to specific." _

Liquid's eyebrows shot up as he began to climb again (albeit at a far slower pace); "Why?"

_"Well, apparently Dead Cell's resident mad bomber Fatman set up C4 all over the Shell," _Naomi explained, _"So, I'd put my money on that being the cause." _

"Hm. Why do I have a feeling that the Patriots got Raiden to go running around this whole place trying to defuse those bombs?" Liquid wondered.

_"Because you're thinking way too much about that kid," _Naomi responded with a smirk. _"It's almost like you've got a crush on him or something." _

Liquid stopped about six feet from the bridge; "Naomi, that was _uncalled for_! I have no such- and- I- _Ach_, why did I even call you?" Liquid cut off the call in a huff, but not before hearing Naomi snicker a bit at him. Liquid pouted- honest to god _pouted_- as he maneuvered himself lower on the strut, back to being level with this next bridge. He did _not _have a _crush _on Raiden. What the hell would make Naomi make that kind of accusation? Before Liquid could even think of how suspicious his denial was, he was inching back along. Eventually, he'd forgotten all about the accusation right as he reached the base of the bridge. This bridge _also _had sentries on it. Liquid did a mental coin-toss as to whether or not to use stealth or brute force. Stealth won the day, sadly.

Liquid maneuvered himself once again into hanging off the bridge, but instead of getting straight to inching his way along _that_, he retrieved the assault rifle and aimed it at a CIPHER floating at the other end of the bridge and slowly making its way back here. Liquid bit his lip (and he _would _have closed his eye were it still around) before opening fire on the floating camera. In a burst of sparks and smoke, the CIPHER went plummeting into the ocean.

Liquid smirked, but that smirk fell seconds later when he heard a Russian sentry react to the sudden, inexplicable sound of gunfire. Liquid decided not to move, and waited until one of the sentries had the sense to look over the side of the bridge right where he was. Their eyes widened at the sight of an inexplicable one-eyed englishman in a black coat hanging off the bridge, and for a few seconds they were speechless.

Liquid just smiled and waved to them before swinging up onto the bridge and delivering a bone-shattering roundhouse kick straight to the Russian soldier's face. He apparently kicked the man so hard that he tumbled over the other side of the bridge and into the water below. Liquid snickered a bit when he heard the splash, but the snicker up and died when he heard one of the sentries shouting into the radio. Liquid acted entirely on instinct and ran straight for the mook, who was caught completely off guard by Liquid literally leaping and tackling him to the ground.

The two of them went rolling straight into the third soldier, knocking him flat on his ass. Liquid retrieved his knife as soon as they'd stopped rolling and stabbed the second sentry right between the eyes. Getting to his feet, he quickly threw that mook into the ocean before turning to the third one. He was a bit disoriented by having been knocked forcibly to the ground by someone else getting tackled, giving Liquid the perfect opportunity to grab him by the throat and also toss him off the bridge.

Liquid smiled once again and dusted off his coat before looking out at the scenery. Minus the smoke and partially burning oil-slick, it was a lovely day. Liquid strolled down the bridge and turned to the central core. To think he was only one core away from strolling down that t-bridge and into the core where he could violently and vengefully get information from Ocelot! Liquid's smile turned into a look of puzzlement as a figure ran down the connecting bridge.

Liquid squinted a bit before breaking out into a grin; Raiden had beaten him here, it seemed. How interesting… Liquid promptly smacked himself across the face. He would _not_ prove Naomi's accusation correct! He set about to climbing around the strut to keep his mind off of this. Thankfully, the E-F connecting bridge was empty, so Liquid merely had to drop down onto it and stroll into the core.

The first things Liquid saw when he entered the core were a blasted-out security camera and an unconscious guard. His grin returned- well well well, the kid was a competent soldier. That was _definitely _good. Liquid walked over to the elevator and pouted a bit. Apparently, the elevator was busy making its way back up here. The englishman tapped his foot and began to whistle a little tune to himself as he waited for the elevator to arrive. When it did, the doors opened, and he was face to face with two (now quite surprised) Russian soldiers. Liquid smiled brightly, confusing the mercenaries further.

"Good afternoon, gentlemen~!" Liquid chirped before grabbing both of their heads and smashing them together with just the right amount of force. They slumped to the ground, unconscious, and Liquid strolled into the elevator. He pressed the B1 button and began to whistle his own improvised elevator music as the doors closed. The elevator stopped shortly after on the very next floor with a cheerful 'ding!', and Liquid casually dragged the two unconscious Russians out of the elevator along with him. Hey, there'd probably be some lockers or something to hide them in on this floor.

The first thing that caught Liquid's eye on that floor was a very impressive looking door. Liquid promptly dropped the two soldiers just to walk over and examine the door. He smirked; it had to be _quite _an important door if it needed to be opened by retinal scanner. Liquid strolled back to the unconscious soldiers, picked up one of them by the throat and slapped him awake.

"Just need to borrow your face for a minute," Liquid remarked with a smirk. He carelessly dragged the man behind him, choking him all the way as he struggled against Liquid's vice grip on his throat. Once he was in front of the retinal scanner, Liquid forced the man's eyelid wide open before pressing his face into the scanner. In another few seconds, a satisfactory 'ding!' was heard and the door slid open.

Liquid grinned and said, "Thank you, you've been a great help," before snapping the poor man's neck. He hid the body behind a potted plant and snuck into the room just as the door slid shut. Liquid's grin widened; well, this was lucky. The room was quite dark, and only three sentries seemed to be patrolling it. Thirty or so men and women- civilians, from the looks of them- were scattered about the floor, blindfolded with tape over their mouths. These were the hostages, alright. Liquid darted behind a large stack of boxes on the left side of the room, carefully watched the guards, then ran again behind a similar pile further up on the left. He kept going until he hit the furthest wall, hiding back behind some more crates under a large etched glass window as he contemplated his next move. He could see the whole room from back here, and the sentries couldn't see him (at least not in this lighting). It was a perfect spot to strategize.

_I'll have to interrogate one of the sentries to find out where Ocelot is, but how to do that without alerting the others… _Liquid's thoughts were cut off when the elevator doors opened and another guard came walking out. Liquid raised an eyebrow as the guard walked into the room, staying awfully close to the hostages; was he holding a directional microphone? What in the world could he be using that for? Liquid kept his eye on that guard in particular, especially as he stopped next to one of the hostages- a middle-aged man in a brown suit with his tie loosened- and knelt down by him.

"You must be Ames," the guard whispered in surprisingly good English. Liquid's eye widened- it was Raiden! Well, _that _answered quite a few questions, and gave him something to do as he sat here thinking.

"Keep still and listen to me," Raiden continued, moving closer to Ames' ear. "I'm not a terrorist. I got in here using one of their uniforms. I'm taking off the tape. Stay quiet." The man nodded slightly, and Raiden slowly pulled the tape off Ames' mouth.

The man took a deep gulp of fresh air before he asked, "Who told you about me?"

"An informer calling himself Mister X. He was dressed like a ninja." Liquid frowned; what _was _it with the Patriots and ninjas?

Unlike any sane person would, Ames relaxed somewhat at the words _Mister X_; "I see. Take this thing off me, will you?" Raiden removed the blindfold as instructed, and Ames looked right at Raiden, eyes not needing to adjust to much in the minimal light.

"I'm Richard Ames."

"Secret Service?"

"No. I was sent in by the La Li Lu Le Lo, just like you." Liquid tried not to groan; and he thought he'd heard enough of that stupid 'word'.

"What?" Liquid's eye widened a bit, and he found himself wanting to sigh. Well, this confirmed that the kid was clueless about who was really pulling his strings. If he found out- and Liquid had a good feeling that he would- Liquid suspected that he would _not _take it well.

"You're here to find out where the President is. We have little time, so I'll be brief. How about switching to nanocommunications first?"

"Nanocommunications?"

"Right. Silence beats talk when it comes to safety." And then the voices suddenly ceased, and Liquid was left to just sit there and think to himself. He surveyed the guards again; would they _really _be a reliable source of information? They _were _remarkably dull witted, that was a certainty. Now he was also starting to wonder whether or not Ocelot would even _be _here. Perhaps Solidus wasn't nearly as stupid as he appeared and he'd put Ocelot away from the hostages… Liquid shook his head. It was fine; more than likely Raiden would run into Ocelot at some point or another. If Liquid couldn't find him here, then he'd have to settle for stalking the kid all over the Big Shell. That'd be enjoyable, right? Right as Liquid was puzzling over the answer to that question, Raiden and Ames suddenly looked over his way. Liquid nearly ducked for cover, but then he carefully followed their eyes. They were looking at the window behind him. Liquid looked over his shoulder at an uncomfortable angle. He could see two shadows on the venetian blinds, and he could hear voices from the room directly behind him; Raiden pointing the directional microphone in that direction was enough of a cue for Liquid to listen in.

"King. Fatman is dead." Liquid's face nearly lit up. Ocelot~! Looks like he'd be able to violently get information from him yet~!

"It doesn't matter," 'King' answered. "Saves us the trouble of getting rid of him ourselves." Liquid's already sinister smirk gained a far _more _sinister edge. If it wasn't Solidus, his _dear _brother. This would be _fun_.

"Why did he betray us?" Ocelot wondered, pretending to sound confused.

"Who knows? They're a band of lunatics to begin with. Nothing they do should come as a surprise," Solidus replied, distaste so very obvious in his voice.

"I'll have his background rechecked, just in case."

Solidus paused; "You think he was working for _them_?"

"We can't discount the possibility, especially with that intruder still at large." Liquid rolled his eyes; that, in Ocelot-ese, meant 'yes, oh and by the way I'm betraying you and there's not a damn thing you can do about it insert "nyahaha" here'.

"Yes… the man in the sneaking suit."

"You know more about those suits than I do."

"But FOXHOUND disbanded four years ago. So it must be… the Patriots?" Liquid tried not to roll his eyes; who the hell _else _could it be?

"What about the damage to Shell Two?" Solidus asked, changing the subject.

"The circulation system for the contaminated water has been damaged. The water being drawn in is overflowing, and the lower block of the central section is flooding," Ocelot replied.

"Then seal the connecting pathway between Shells One and Two."

"The Semtex and IR sensors are already in place."

"Any effect on… _it_?" Liquid raised an eyebrow; was Solidus just saying that to be overly dramatic? He couldn't have possibly known anyone was listening, there was _no _reason for him to refer to Arsenal Gear as _it _among people who knew what _it _was.

"No."

"What about the President?"

"The password entry has already been made to the Black Case. In one hour, we'll need confirmation from him. His work is done after that." Liquid could hear the suppressed glee in Ocelot's voice. Liquid frowned as memories of Shadow Moses started clamoring for attention at the back of his mind.

"Make _sure _you keep him alive until then."

"Yes, I know."

"What about the unit's activation?" Liquid's ears perked up; good, they were talking about GW! _Finally _something he cared about!

"Almost complete. The code has already been entered. All we need now is for the girl to start the system." Liquid furrowed his eyebrows; girl? What girl? He'd have to ask Naomi about this…

"The usual method, I assume?"

"No. The drugs took care of everything." He frowned; great, now he hated Ocelot even more for drugging and possibly doing unspeakable things to this unknown girl.

"Hmm…" Liquid turned at that uncomfortable angle yet again to see Solidus turn his back on Ocelot. "Only a few more steps to Outer Heaven!"

_That's it, after this I'm getting that shit trademarked, _Liquid thought with a scowl. Just then, he heard the sound of a door opening, and a quite fetching shadow entered the room. Liquid squinted a bit, trying to identify those _exact _curves… Olga Gurlukovich. Apparently, childbirth hadn't been _that _much of a detriment to her figure.

"Who is that cyborg ninja, Shalashaska?" She asked, her voice heavy with suspicion.

"I cannot even guess," Ocelot lied.

"What about you?" she asked Solidus.

"I'm having the matter looked into," Solidus replied, dodging the question.

"Olga!" Ocelot said, pretending to sound offended. "Don't cast suspicion where it isn't due!"

"Where it isn't due?" she echoed with venom. "When you watched my father die and did nothing?"

Ocelot sighed, probably rolling his eyes to go with it; "It's been two years, Olga. Let it go."

"I read the file on Shadow Moses, by the way," she remarked sarcastically.

"Olga, how could you suspect me?"

"You're _Revolver Ocelot_! You think I can trust _you_? I know that the ninja is not one of _my _men." Liquid smiled; oh, Olga~ What a good head she had on her shoulders.

"How meaningful you make that sound," Ocelot said. "If Sergei were still alive-"

"If the old man were still alive, I wouldn't need to take orders from _you_!" Olga snapped.

"Olga, Sergei was my best friend-"

She interrupted him with a cold whisper; "If you sell us out, Ocelot- I'll kill you myself." Liquid's eye widened as he heard a pistol cock; looks like Ocelot was tired of putting up a 'kind' facade.

"Listen, daughter of Sergei," Ocelot growled, "Don't ever let me see your gun pointed at me again."

Olga just chuckled lightly; "If you wish. I'll put a bullet in your back instead." Liquid would've hugged the Russian woman if he were in the room with her. _Finally _someone understood that Ocelot needed to die and die painfully~!

"Stop this fighting!" Solidus demanded. "I took you both in when no one else would! You think any government would have you as irregulars in this political climate? The worst kind of wetworks, maybe. But even _that's _doubtful." Immediately the two Russians stopped their bickering. Liquid pouted; he'd wanted to hear Olga be awesome some more!

"I'd recommend against switching camps," Solidus remarked. "You've nowhere left to go." Liquid heard Olga grumble a bit under her breath, and with some quick footsteps she'd left the room. Ocelot and Solidus were on their own again.

"Speaking of betrayal… You heard Vamp's report?" Ocelot asked. Liquid bit his lip; oh _dear_, why did he have a feeling this was about him?

"Yes, I did. And I'm not about to doubt it. Liquid's definitely the type to poke his head in where he doesn't belong," Solidus replied. The pure, utter distaste was back, and honestly Liquid was a little proud that he could cause that.

"I'd always be quite happy to hunt him down, you know," Ocelot mentioned. He heard the iconic and unforgettable sound of a revolver spinning around. Ocelot must've gotten a far better prosthetic than the one he had when Liquid last saw him if he could indulge in his old habit again.

Liquid inferred that Solidus shot Ocelot a stern glare right here; "_No_. This isn't about _your _revenge. Ocelot, I'll leave this place in your hands. I'll take care of the intruders. _Both _of them."

"Yes, _King_," Ocelot nearly _grumbled_. Liquid heard Solidus's heavy footsteps and the slamming of a door. He was gone too. Liquid smirked just a bit, so _very _glad that he'd caused all of those reactions. The smirk fell into a look of concentration as Liquid looked around for a way into the control room. He'd have to get in there quick if he was going to get to Ocelot before he moved- apparently, Liquid must've done a little too much thinking right there, because right as Raiden stood up with his AK in hand Ocelot came sauntering into the room… and right up to Raiden. Liquid felt his heart rate increase just a fraction. The kid's cover was more than likely blown, had he outlived his usefulness to the Patriots already? And why the hell was _he _so concerned about this?

"Who are you?" Ocelot asked the young operative. Liquid bit the inside of his lower lip as his hand ghosted over his pistol; Ocelot probably knew full well who Raiden was, but damn if he wasn't putting on a good performance of reasonable suspicion.

One of the soldiers heard Ocelot and ran forward. He pointed his own AK at Raiden and commanded, "Show your face!"

Ocelot gestured towards Ames, more than likely indicating the missing blindfold and duct tape; "What do you think you're doing?"

Ames was quick to lie; "I asked him to remove these. I'm ill, you see."

Ocelot smirked; "I always knew the DIA turned out second rate _liars_." Liquid immediately gripped his sidearm.

"Wha-what are you talking about?"

"No need for denials. We know what you are… Colonel Ames." Ames' jaw dropped. Apparently he'd thought his cover was foolproof.

Ocelot drew his revolver and pointed it at the man's head; "They knew that the President was planning to betray them. So they sent you in to keep tabs on him, am I right?"

"You-!"

"Sorry, Colonel. You failed to carry out your duties."

Ames sputtered angrily, "You'll never escape the La Li Lu Le Lo!"

Ocelot spun his revolver around, as he always did and always would; "Is that so?" He ceased his spinning and pointed his trusty six-shooter at Ames yet again. But before he could pull the trigger, Ames suddenly broke out into convulsions, clawing at his chest and crying out in agony.

"What the…?" Ocelot trailed off, stepping back. Liquid's eye darkened; oh _no_, this was too much. He'd just barely been recognizing some similarities to Shadow Moses, but were they trying to recreate _FOXDIE_? _No_. That was all Liquid could think on the subject, just _no_.

"You… tricked… me!" Ames gasped. "I… understand… now… _you're_…!" Ames couldn't finish his sentence; he just choked and fell over, dead in an instant. Liquid pulled out his sidearm, getting ready to shoot. Things were about to go downhill, fast. Raiden seemed to be frozen in shock, but when he moved to examine Ames (presumably to confirm his death), Ocelot pointed the revolver at his chest. Liquid immediately aimed his pistol at Ocelot's hand.

"You- Which team are you with?" Ocelot demanded. Raiden was silent.

"Show me your face!" one of the soldiers barked, raising their rifle.

Ocelot looked to the soldier that'd just spoken; "You know who he is?"

"No. He's not one of mine," the guard replied.

"Identify yourself!" Apparently Raiden didn't see any other options, since he did as commanded and reluctantly removed the balaclava, his long platinum blonde hair falling to his shoulders. Realization sparked through Ocelot's eyes and he nodded, raising the handgun to Raiden's forehead. Liquid's eye widened and, without thinking, Liquid ran out from behind cover, shooting the revolver straight out of Ocelot's hand. All eyes turned to him, and Ocelot's shocked face quickly morphed to one of furious anger as he recognized just _who _had shot the gun from his hand.

The militia men were about to open fire, when a blur of silver fell from the ceiling. A figure stood between Raiden, Liquid, and their adversaries, clad in a strange metallic suit. This must've been the brand new cyborg ninja. The mercenaries opened fire after a brief period of shock, but the ninja's dizzyingly fast blade deflected the bullets with a practiced ease. The rounds ricocheted away- and unfortunately hit a few hostages, the victims crying out in pain and shock.

"Hold your fire!" Ocelot shouted. "We need the hostages alive!" The militia men stopped, as commanded.

The ninja looked over their shoulder and said in a deep, accented voice, "Both of you, hurry. Get away! Leave this to me!" Liquid nodded and sprinted over to Raiden, grabbing the operative by the arm.

"You heard the man," Liquid snapped, "Time to get the hell out of dodge!" Without waiting for anyone to say anything else, Liquid sprinted back up to the door with Raiden in tow. An assault team rushed toward them from the back of the hall. Gunfire erupted behind them right as they made it through the security door, and Liquid just had to look over his shoulder. The ninja seemed to be holding his own, defending himself with his katana alone. Their grace and speed, along with their skill with that sword, was looking a little _too _familiar for Liquid's tastes. Liquid let go of Raiden's arm and ran for the Core elevator, but was surprised to see Raiden running even with him. He couldn't blame the kid- he was his only 'ally' that wasn't staying back to fight off Russians.

The two of them made it to the elevator just as a Shell-wide PA announcement blared out, _"We have intruders in Shell One! All personnel, we are on red alert! Begin Caution Mode protocol. Search every section of the structure! One of the intruders may be dressed in our own colors. Face check all personnel encountered! I repeat-"_

"Lovely," Liquid muttered as the elevator doors closed. It was then that he noticed Raiden's eyes on him.

"Yes?" Liquid asked, turning to the young operative.

"Who are you?" Raiden asked, turning to him as well with a suspicious look in his eyes. Liquid wanted to roll his eyes; this kid was way too damn quick when it came to suspecting people, especially people who'd just saved his ass.

"I'll tell you later. For now, call me 'Uncle Bob'," Liquid replied semi-sarcastically. Right afterwards, he had to stifle a laugh at the flabbergasted look on Raiden's face. Apparently, that was a bit much for the young operative.

The elevator doors opened on 1F right then, back at the entrance to the core. An enemy sentry was in the corridor with the broken surveillance camera. Liquid was about to dart out of there to kill the man nice and quick, but Raiden shook his head, instead motioning for Liquid to flatten himself against the wall of the lift. Liquid did so, as did Raiden (who also kept his hand on the 'door open' button). The lift would appear empty this way, at least from the sentry's perspective. The soldier turned to the empty lift and approached with caution.

"Who's there?" the man asked in Russian. Neither Liquid or Raiden made a sound. After a pause that felt like eternity, the soldier stepped into the lift. Raiden knocked away the man's AK with his left hand and delivered a powerful uppercut to the man's face with his right. The soldier lost his balance and fell into the elevator. Two swift kicks knocked the man right out. Liquid's eyebrows shot up, and he refrained from letting out a low whistle of appreciation.

Raiden scouted the hallway, and when he was sure the coast was clear Liquid dragged the man out into the hall and dumped him in a nearby trash can. With a nod, he and Raiden moved on and into the sunlight on the E-F connecting bridge. And they came face to face with a guard. Liquid instinctively shot the man point-blank in the chest; the soldier whirled around and slammed against the bridge railing, then slumped to the ground. Raiden winced a bit, and Liquid just shrugged. The two of them moved on, making it through Strut E and D, stopping at the bridge between struts D and G.

"Moving onto Shell 2, eh?" Liquid wondered as he surveyed the rather vacant area around them. "You're certainly dead set on rescuing that _traitorous_ President of yours. I swear, I'll _never_ understand patriotism."

Raiden looked at him with suspicion once again before his shoulders slumped and he replied, "It's not patriotism. If I 'rescue' him before they get the confirmation for the nuclear launch, then at least I'll be stopping that. And, I mean… What else can I really do?"

Liquid just shrugged; "It's your decision. Now, I'm off. It was lovely teaming up with you, and I hope we can do so again in the future." Liquid began to make his way back into Strut D, but stopped just before going in.

He looked over his shoulder back at Raiden and said, "By the way… My name's Liquid Snake." Raiden's eyes widened in shock, but before he could say anything or stop him Liquid had disappeared into the strut. Raiden frowned, but before he could contemplate what had just happened the Codec chirped in his ear. The young operative smiled just a bit; that was Pliskin's frequency. Good, someone who made _sense_. He answered it while wondering if he should tell him about Liquid…

Liquid watched from the roof as Raiden spoke silently with someone on the Codec, and his eye followed him as the kid ran to Strut F, then ran back with what Liquid could only assume was a rifle of some sort in hand. Only when Raiden began sniping the IR sensors hooked up to the Semtex did Liquid realize he was smiling like an idiot. He smacked himself in an attempt to make the smile go away, but it persisted. Liquid sighed; well, it looked like Naomi was a fraction of the way right. He was growing fond of the kid. But it wasn't like that was a particularly _bad _thing! He was a clever soldier and a damn good fighter, what was wrong with being fond of someone like that?

In minutes, Raiden had taken out all of the IR sensors, and the bridge was now safe to cross. Raiden did just that, but he stopped when he was halfway. Liquid rolled his eye; yet another Codec call, he assumed. This one took several minutes to finish, and then Raiden was going along the bridge again. However, right then Liquid could hear the sound of a helicopter growing nearer and nearer. He looked up to see a Kamov Kasatka rising into the sky from behind Shell 2. Liquid bit the inside of his lower lip as he watched the helicopter hover over the bridge, feeling a pang of nostalgia as he listened to the roar of the rotor blades. How long had it _been _since he'd last piloted a helicopter? RAY was a spectacular machine, but… he missed the sky.

Liquid could see Snake wave to Raiden from the door of the helicopter. Raiden saluted him in return, and the Kasatka headed for the Shell 1 heliport. Raiden continued along the bridge, but he stopped _again_. And this time for a credible reason, because Solidus was standing in the door to Strut G. Liquid frowned as he eyed Solidus's long leather coat; great, now he was ripping Liquid off in more ways than one!

Solidus narrowed his eyes, taking a closer look at Raiden as he muttered, "Where do I… know him from?" Liquid's frown deepened into a scowl; oh, _wonderful_. The man couldn't even remember the children he traumatized via war. He was _just _like the old man, alright.

Raiden didn't seem to be intimidated; "So you're the boss around here?"

Solidus got a gleam in his eye and boasted, "No, not just around here. I'm the boss to surpass Big Boss himself! Solid Snake!" Liquid had to suppress a chuckle. Did Solidus _seriously _think that sounded intimidating?

"No!" Snake shouted. Liquid looked up; the Kasatka had returned without either Liquid or Raiden noticing it.

"That is _not _Solid Snake!" Snake called, his face full of righteous fury. Solidus gazed up at his brother for a brief moment before smiling a rather creepy smile.

"What a pleasant surprise… brother!" Solidus called back. Liquid was _very _tempted to call Solidus out on how he kept ripping him off, but decided to just watch the show. It was getting too interesting to interrupt. Raiden was just standing dumbfounded in the middle of it all.

"Save it, you're no brother of mine," Snake yelled.

"Don't say you've _forgotten _me, Snake," Solidus said. Raiden was looking back and forth between Solidus and Snake; Liquid could only guess that he was looking for the family resemblance.

Snake shouted, "Raiden! Take cover!" Raiden hit the deck, and as he did the soldier leaned farther our of the helicopter to fire a burst from his M4 at the terrorist. Liquid's eye flickered over to Solidus, and his jaw nearly dropped; Solidus had, in an instant, transformed his clothing into a highly sophisticated suit of armor. The bullets from Snake's M4 bounced off the suit in a hail of sparks.

"Stop impersonating him!" Snake yelled. Liquid nearly rolled his eyes at Snake's half-hearted attempt to keep up the charade.

"Brother, I'm a whole different game from Liquid! I am Solidus Snake! Doctor Clark secretly created me out of the same batch that produced you and Liquid! DIdn't you know?" Liquid could take no more of this.

Liquid stood up and shouted, "You are _not _a whole different game than me! Especially not when you keep _ripping me off_!" Solidus's eyes flickered over to Liquid, as did Raiden's; Solidus immediately glared at him.

"Well well, speak of the devil and he shall appear," Solidus called back up to him. Apparently Snake hadn't heard him because he was too busy getting the grenade launcher he now appeared holding as he leaned out of the Kasatka again. He fired on Solidus, and his target immediately jumped to the side so that the grenade struck the door to Strut G. The blast was concussive enough to knock Raiden to the ground, but Solidus stood through the shock.

"That the best you can do, Snake?" he called to the helicopter.

As Snake fired off another grenade that ended up destroying the bridge rather than Solidus, Liquid called Naomi; _"Naomi, I need to you to use RAY's remote control function and get him over to where I am!" _

_"What, why?" _Naomi asked, looking a little indignant.

_"I have to fight Solidus and I _really _don't_ _think that my pistol's going to be enough," _Liquid replied.

Naomi let out a huff, but she replied, _"Fine. It'll be there, you'll see it on your radar as a green dot." _

_"Naomi, you're wonderful," _Liquid remarked with a smile before signing off and returning to the matter at hand. The airspace was blanketed in black smoke, and nobody could see a thing.

"Did I get him?" Snake called.

"Probably not!" Liquid called back up. Snake was briefly caught off guard, but he glared at him right after and turned back to the smoke as it cleared. When it did, there was no sign of the third 'snake', only Raiden hanging on for dear life to a girder from the destroyed D-G connecting bridge. Liquid nearly sighed in relief seeing Raiden was alright. And, really, he didn't have time to, since right then the AV Harrier II rose from below on a steep ascent, and on its nose stood none other than Solidus. Liquid gawked at the exquisitely designed aircraft for a few seconds before slapping himself; that was a _bad _plane, Liquid! And Liquid Snake did _not _gawk over bad planes. Right then, he saw an approaching green dot on his radar, and his face split into a psychotic grin.

The Harrier hovered steadily so that Solidus could walk to the cockpit and set himself inside. Raiden stared in terrified awe; _Oh my God… _

"Otacon," Snake shouted, "we're in trouble! It's the Harrier!" The Kasatka swung around quickly.

Solidus raised a fist in the air; "The world needs only one Big Boss! I'll drown you fools for interfering!" Before he could close the cockpit, however, a mighty roar could be heard from below. With all the warning of an earthquake, Metal Gear RAY rocketed out of the depths, landing on the roof of Strut D and nearly caving it in.

Liquid opened the cockpit and let out a mad cackle; "Challenge accepted, brother! Snake, let's drown this presumptuous rat, shall we?" Solidus's triumphant grin morphed into a snarl, and he closed the cockpit, taking the controls; before even a second had passed, the Harrier had fired two missiles, one at the Kasatka and one at RAY. Otacon managed to barely dodge the projectile, while Liquid immediately fired two of his own anti-tank missiles at _both _missiles, creating two explosions loud enough to make someone not made of sterner stuff go deaf. The Harrier swooped over to the strut, but quickly had to swerve away as RAY attempted to cut it in two with its water cutter. The Harrier flew far above RAY and turned to face the Kasatka, which had flown over to the D-G connecting bridge. Raiden had managed to find his feet again on the Shell 1 side of the burning bridge.

Snake called out to Raiden, "This is a Stinger missile launcher!" He dropped a case from the chopper. It fell right next to the young operative. "The Kasatka can't stand up to the Harrier!" The Harrier sped forward, just barely skirting past an anti-tank missile from RAY, forcing Otacon to rapidly ascend. The two steel crafts soared into the sky above the Big Shell to do battle, and RAY followed after with anti-tank and anti-_ship_ missiles alike firing into the air. Raiden looked to the Stinger case, back to the melee, and then back to the case. He knew what he had to do. He stooped to open the case as a symphony of explosions, roars and mad laughter filled the sky. He mentally went over the specs for both the Harrier and the Stinger missile launcher in his head, trying to get in an analytical and clear state of mind.

The aircraft had moved away from its skirmish with RAY and the Kasatka, flying for him next. An explosion on the bridge nearly knocked him to his feet, but Raiden was stronger than that. RAY finally found the Harrier again, and fired a pair of anti-tank missiles right at it. The Harrier was far too quick for them, swooping out of the way and around to the other side of Strut D as Raiden made his way to the severely damaged roof. RAY leapt off of Strut D and onto Strut C before looking around for the Harrier once more. Raiden crouched behind the railing on the roof and held the launcher to his shoulder, getting the Harrier in sight and switching on the targeting system. The Harrier fired an AIM-9 Sidewinder missile straight at Raiden, who leapt out of the way at just the right moment. The missile destroyed a good portion of the roof, but Raiden found a stable area again and got the Harrier back in his sights.

RAY got a lock on the Harrier right as the aircraft rose for another go at the operative, and with a loud, primal roar, it let loose a volley of fire from its twin machine guns. Right as it did, the Kasatka came swooping down, and Snake fired another grenade at the Harrier. It landed a direct hit, and the plane wobbled and spun for a few seconds, but it regained its equilibrium. The damage was minimal, but it wouldn't be for long if it stayed right in the hail of bullets RAY's machine guns were providing. The Harrier rose further into the air and fired a Sidewinder at RAY, who cut the missile in two with its water cutter. The explosion lit up the afternoon sky and roared over all sound.

Raiden gritted his teeth and mentally tried to will Snake out of the way; he had the Harrier in his sights and had the targeting system all lined up. The chopper and the gunship were so close together, he had almost a fifty-fifty shot of shooting down the Kasatka. Suddenly, Raiden had a brainwave; the Soliton radar! He looked at it out of the corner of his 'eye'- the fighter jet was a large red dot while the Kasatka was a small red dot. With one eye on the Stinger scope and the other on the radar, keeping track of the Harrier was no problem at all. With a renewed sense of confidence, Raiden fired the missile. It hit the Harrier right in its underbelly, causing the largest explosion of them all over the Big Shell. Shrapnel flew everywhere, some of it even nicking Metal Gear RAY's strong hide.

The aircraft plummeted out of the sky, completely out of control. It struck Strut G on its way down with a ferocious impact. It hung there for a second, presumably stopped, before beginning its fall anew. Liquid's grin threatened to break his face in two as the Harrier hit the sea. And then, all was calm. With some jumping, RAY ended up happily perched on Strut G. Liquid opened the cockpit and stretched his arms with a smile; now _that _was a battle.

"Good job down there~!" Liquid called over to Raiden. Raiden blinked a few times before smiling tiredly and giving him a lazy salute. Liquid nodded and looked up; Snake was staring at him from the Kasatka, his face a mixture of disbelief, frustration, and confusion. Liquid just smirked and waved up at his brother, who frowned and silently flipped him the bird in response, but then his attention was suddenly diverted to the water. Liquid furrowed his eyebrows in confusion before looking in the same direction. A giant shadow under the surface of the water was growing larger. Suddenly, it broke through the waves and continued to rise until it was so far about the ocean you could almost say it was flying. And Liquid's eye widened when he saw what it was.

It was _Metal Gear RAY_. And yet… it wasn't. Portions of it weren't fully constructed, showing the lower layers of steel and- in some portions- even its metal skeleton. Instead of being an iridescent blue, this RAY was a cold, unreflective black. This 'bizarro RAY's eye was _red_, easily the most disturbing thing about it. In its beak was the Harrier. And Solidus, still alive, was already climbing out of the cockpit. Liquid couldn't help but snicker through his shock; his left eye was gone, leaving only his right. He really was _just _like the old man.

He looked up with his remaining eye and shouted to the figure at Metal Gear's controls, "Vamp! Go!" Liquid's eyes moved to the cockpit as it opened. The vampire was indeed this mirror RAY's pilot. The unearthly man grinned and stepped out on the hovering mecha. Solidus passed him and got into the cockpit, prompting Vamp to leap off the fuselage and land on the water. _On _the water. _On his feet_. He then began to run toward Strut L. _On the water_. Liquid could only stare. It took only a few moments for the vampire to reach the roof of one of the struts, vaulting over the railing and disappearing through the door. Gone. Liquid looked back to the mirror RAY. The mechanical beast ceased hovering and gracefully dove back into the water.

Liquid, his face still stuck in shock, could only follow its example, closing the cockpit and leaping into the water. He resurfaced on the other end of the Shell, behind the outermost strut. Liquid let RAY tread water, got out of the cockpit and sat on the machine's head. He sat there in silence for a few minutes before calling Naomi on the Codec.

_"Naomi, I just saw a weird, half-skeletal, black Metal Gear RAY. … Am I dead?" _Liquid wondered in a quiet, almost shell-shocked tone.

_"Uhr, no," _Naomi replied with a sympathetic smile. _"Regina just gave me some information on a machine that fits pretty much exactly that description. It's an incomplete prototype for the unmanned Metal Gear RAY units. Solidus and Dead Cell stole that thing back in January, and they were able to modify it so it could be piloted by a human. However, they weren't able to complete it themselves, which is why parts of it should look unfinished."_

_"Did they paint it black to make it edgey or something?" _Liquid wondered sarcastically.

Naomi laughed just a bit; _"Actually, it's black because it doesn't have the outer armor that our RAY has. If you face it again, don't worry. It's incomplete, and no match for the original."_

_"It's especially no match for the modifications we made," _Liquid remarked, his smirk returning. Naomi's image on the monitor nodded.

_"How are things looking over there?" _Naomi asked.

_"Not too bad security-wise, though the Big Shell has taken quite the beating," _Liquid replied, _"I should be able to get back to sneaking around and looking for Arsenal Gear right away."_

_"Alright, but be careful, okay?" _Naomi asked.

_"I promise I will," _Liquid replied with a smile before signing off. He looked down at RAY again and rubbed its head comfortingly like it was a dog.

It was time to get back to work.


	10. Chapter 9: Test of Character

_LAST TIME, Liquid engaged in a lot of monotonous climbing along with some monotonous ass-kicking, stealthed his way into where the hostages were, sat around listening to people talking while snarking at what they were saying, saved Raiden's ass due to a growing man-crush on the boy, ran around with Raiden like they were bros, snarked at his brothers, actually fought alongside Snake to take down Solidus, had a minor freak out at seeing a poorly made secondary prototype of RAY, had a Codec conversation, and then patted RAY like it was his companion cube. NOW, THE THRILLING CONTINUATION. I will also be trying my damnedest to write this and not get distracted by my rediscovered Yoshi's Island game. I don't own anything, except for this story, all changes in canon character design brought about by the story, all OCs, the laptop I'm writing this on, the chair I'm sitting in as I'm writing this, and the Nintendo DS I'm trying not to play. Alright, let's roll._

_**-Test of Character-**_

Liquid flipped up onto the connecting bridge before letting out a sigh of relief. _That _bit of monotonous climbing had been both tiresome and _boring_. In fact, it was so boring that it had gotten him asking all kinds of questions, such as 'what is beauty' and 'what would happen if I microwaved a gun'. However, one question had stuck in his mind: who was the girl Ocelot and Solidus had been talking about? He hadn't heard of any girl, especially not in reference to GW. As he strolled into the central core of Shell 2, Liquid called Naomi.

_"Naomi, there's something I need to ask you," _Liquid said as Naomi picked up.

_"Alright, shoot," _Naomi replied simply.

_"Ocelot and Solidus were talking about a girl, something about getting her to activate GW. Do you know anything about that?" _Liquid asked.

Naomi furrowed her eyebrows in confusion; _"A girl? Hmm, I didn't hear anything about a girl…"_

Suddenly, Regina broke into the call with a smirk; _"That would be Emma Emmerich. I _just _managed to fish out some information on her. She's the system programmer for Arsenal Gear, and she made dear ol' GW. And apparently they're keeping her in a locker on the northwest corner of the B1 floor in Core 2."_

Liquid frowned a bit; _"Emmerich… She's related to Snake's scientist, isn't she?" _

_"She's his little stepsister, actually," _Regina replied, still smirking, _"That's why Hal's here, to rescue her. However, given what I'm reading here on their relationship, she _probably _won't be too happy to see him. Seriously, it's like a really good soap opera; there's pseudo-incest, suicide, sexual assault, it's got it all." _

Liquid quirked an eyebrow and asked, _"What kind of soap operas do _you _watch if that constitutes as 'really good'?"_

_"_Awesome _ones," _Regina retorted before going on, _"Anyway, she made a virus to take out GW, and from these plans- well, it almost reads more like a script, really- Raiden's apparently going to have to get her across to Shell 1 so she can use that virus on GW. That'll be damn difficult, seeing as she's afraid of water. Getting her there oughta be a chore with all that flooding. My sympathies go out to the kid." _

Liquid paused in walking before letting a wicked smirk creep onto his face; _"Oh _really _now?" _

Naomi immediately cut in with a stern face; _"Liquid, I have no idea what you're thinking, but I know it's not good. So _don't do it_." _

_"What? No, I wasn't thinking of _anything_," _Liquid lied. _"Don't you worry your pretty little head about it, Naomi~" _

_"Liquid, damn it don't-" _Liquid signed off before Naomi could start shouting at him in earnest. He strolled over to the elevator just in time to see the doors close; Raiden had beaten him here again. Liquid shrugged and called the elevator again, leaning back and waiting for it to return. As far as he knew, the B1 level and all below it were almost completely flooded. He grimaced- this meant he'd have to _swim. _Swimming… well, it wasn't like Liquid _couldn't _swim, he just didn't like to. And he really didn't want to get his coat wet. The lift came back up with a 'ding!' and Liquid strolled in. He frowned as he walked on the wet floor; _that _was a good omen. The elevator ride down to B1 was uneventful, and the floor was wet when he came out of the lift. Soon enough, he came across a stairwell. He grimaced as he waded down to about waist level.

It looked like he'd have to start properly swimming from here. He looked to his Soliton radar out of the corner of his eye and just hoped it'd be enough to keep him from getting hopelessly lost. Liquid just sighed, took a deep breath, and dove in. The water was murky, but not so much that his already slightly impaired vision was cut off. He swam forward until he reached an L-shaped hallway, at which point he smacked into the wall before he thought to turn. He took a second to lament his lack of depth perception, but then had to swim around a disabled maintenance vehicle (Liquid _wanted _to call it a golf cart, but he knew that'd just be silly). The Englishman swam over to a shaft of light and up, breaking the surface to find a small air pocket. And by small, we mean the ceiling was about two inches from his face. Liquid took a moment to replace his lost oxygen before diving back down and going through a nearby hallway.

Liquid spied an open hatch at the end of the corridor, and decided to head for that; after smacking into a few walls and nearly getting assaulted by a floating corpse, Liquid made it there. The room was pretty much destroyed- the walls were in shreds, and pieces of machinery, tools, and fallen girders littered the passage. Liquid was about to throw an underwater hissy fit at how difficult this would make his journey, but then he noticed a short stairwell just to the west with light filtering through from above. He would've smiled if he weren't holding what little breath he had left. He swam over to it and broke the surface, climbing up the rest of the way. He just had to grimace again- he was soaking wet, that was for certain. He shook his head, trying to get the water out of his hair that way. He mostly ended up resembling a dog via his efforts.

As he was lamenting to himself about how he'd need to wring the water out of his coat next, he was distracted by the sound of gunshots and the sound of metal ringing off of metal. Liquid forgot all about his current predicament and snuck into the room just ahead; his eye widened at the sight. Raiden was shooting at Vamp, who was busy avoiding every single shot and lobbing knives right back at Raiden. The young operative leapt out of the way of a cluster of knives, rolling behind a lead pipe; he pulled out three grenades from god-knows-where and readied one in his right hand. Vamp clung to one of the upper catwalks surrounding the perimeter of the room, a vantage point where he could see Raiden clearly.

"You can't hide now!" the unearthly man called. He threw a few more knives, forcing Raiden out from behind cover to dodge them. Vamp dropped to the floor with a long knife in hand; Liquid was about to go for his sidearm, but he thought better of it. Raiden could handle this guy. Raiden pulled the pin on the grenade with his teeth before tossing it straight at the Dead Cell member before hiding back behind the pipe. The explosion rocked the room, and Vamp let out a screech of pain. Raiden leapt back out from behind cover, opening fire on Vamp with his AK-47. Vamp let out another unholy scream as the rounds tore through him, but he dove into the pool in the center of the room once again. Liquid could just catch Raiden cursing under his breath at that.

Both Liquid and Raiden kept their eye(s) trained on the pool as Raiden pulled the pin on another grenade. Three seconds later, the water surface broke as Vamp leapt out of the pool. Raiden didn't waste any time, flinging the grenade at Vamp before ducking. The explosion hit Vamp right in the face, knocking him out of the air and back onto the water. There was barely a splash, something that made Liquid's already raised eyebrow go up even further. Vamp was still and lifeless on the surface of the water, but Raiden unleashed some more rounds into the vampire just to make sure. Vamp slowly sank into the water, his blood spreading over the surface and… boiling. Liquid's eyebrow went up even further, and Raiden moved on. Liquid was about to follow him, but he hung back and smirked. This would be the _perfect _place. And so, Liquid found a nice wall to lean against, conveniently in the shadows, waiting for Raiden to come back through with the girl.

He passed the time by trying to wring the water out of his jacket.

Eventually- after god knows _how _long- Raiden came back into the room holding hands with… the girl? Liquid's eyebrow went right back up as he examined the girl; she had reddish-brown hair held up with chopsticks and wore red-framed glasses, and for some reason she was wearing cycling shorts. _This _girl was the system programmer for GW? She looked fourteen, fifteen at the oldest! However, it was a good thing she wasn't, because she was _ridiculously_ cute. Once again he had to mentally slap himself and remind himself of his dead fiancée. Raiden had to catch her to keep her from falling- for some reason or another, her legs looked weak. Liquid frowned; _that _must've been what the drugs Ocelot mentioned were supposed to do.

Raiden helped the girl over to wall and they sat down to rest, Raiden giving her five feet of space. Liquid inched over into a corner, since he was right in their line of sight. Before making his move, Liquid decided to wait a bit longer, just to listen. Hey, he was bored. Cut him some slack.

After a minute of silence, Raiden remarked, "You did good."

"I concentrated on your heartbeat," she replied softly. "It… it reminded me of when I was a kid." She tentatively smiled at Raiden, and Liquid couldn't help but smile too. He'd earned her trust already, eh? Well then, he'd only be helping move that along.

Emma continued, "I remembered my brother giving me a piggyback ride. I was sleeping with my ear against his back. I could hear his heartbeat."

"Sounds like you were close," Raiden noted.

"We were… back then." She paused for a while before speaking again. "We were stepchildren in our parents' second marriages. Wherever my brother went, I used to tag along. My brother didn't have any close friends, so he used to take care of me. We both wanted to be loved so much- so much that we used to pretend…"

When she stopped off, Raiden prompted her. "Pretend?"

"Yeah. We used to play house. My brother was the husband, and I was the wife." Liquid raised an eyebrow- was _this _the incest Regina was talking about? "But it was just make believe! We were only kids. You know what I mean?" Liquid nearly sighed with relief. That had been going to a _horrible _place in his mind. Damn it Regina!

Raiden thought about that for a bit before answering, "I never had a family. But I think I know what you mean." Liquid couldn't help but shoot Raiden a sympathetic glance, but he knew that now was the time to make his move. Faster than even Vamp, Liquid darted out of the shadows, grabbed Emma in a headlock, and stopped right beside the pool. He pulled out a knife and held it to her neck before grinning at the extremely shocked Raiden.

Raiden got to his feet and aimed the SOCOM at Liquid, his face still perplexed; "Liquid? What are you-?"

"Hello, Raiden~!" Liquid chirped, pulling his knife back and twirling it around as the girl's breathing quickened out of fear. "I just decided that I'd put you through a little test of character, mm?"

Raiden narrowed his eyes and snapped, "Oh, so first you help me and now you're _testing _me? What's your game?"

Liquid put his knife back to Emma's throat with a smile; "Raiden, don't assume the worst of me. I'm still helping you, though you won't know exactly how until the moment arises." Emma let out a small squeak of fear, which focused Liquid's attention squarely on her.

"Emma Emmerich, I presume? I must say, you've actually been quite helpful," Liquid remarked, smirking down at Emma.

Emma's eyes widened in fear and she stammered, "H-helpful? How?"

Liquid brought his knife back again and twirled it around some more as he answered, "Your initials were used to trick your brother some time back, helping me _nearly _kill my own brother. So, thank you for having such a _gullible _older brother." Emma glared up at him and attempted to struggle out of his grasp, but the knife went right back to her throat and she was frozen in fear yet again. Raiden couldn't take anymore of this; letting out a wordless cry of rage, Raiden closed the distance between him and Liquid, punching the Englishman straight in the face as hard as he could. The force was enough that Liquid released Emma without so much as a scratch and went reeling backwards. Raiden caught Emma as she stumbled forward before pushing her behind him and drawing the SOCOM again.

"Emma, stay back," Raiden muttered, his tone deadly serious. Emma nodded and limped back to the wall, eyes still wide in shock and fear. Liquid grinned and stood at his full height, spinning the knife around some more in anticipation. He let out a low, maniacal cackle.

"Yes, that's right," Liquid growled, "Get angry! Come on, show me how hard you'll fight to defend your charge!" Raiden glared at him and opened fire, shooting right for Liquid. Liquid ducked out of the way of both shots before darting forward and slashing for Raiden's stomach. The young operative stepped back to avoid the knife, but Liquid took that opportunity to grab his right arm. The Englishman flung Raiden over his head and across the room- he hit the ground with a thud, the wind knocked out of him and the SOCOM flying out of his hands. Liquid sheathed the knife and smirked at Raiden as he got to his feet.

Raiden glared at him before rushing forward and hitting Liquid in the face yet again with a left hook. Liquid recovered quickly this time, throwing his own punch that Raiden dodged with ease. Liquid threw another punch, Raiden dodged it, and then _head butted _Liquid as hard as he could. Liquid let out a cry of pain and went staggering backwards, while Raiden just grunted and clutched his- now bleeding- forehead. Liquid recovered quicker than Raiden expected, glaring daggers at him before drawing his own sidearm and aiming straight at Raiden's head. Raiden's eyes widened as he just barely dodged the first shot, and he had to roll under the next until he was behind cover. Liquid was about to go running after Raiden, but he was suddenly distracted by a SOCOM bullet whizzing past his right ear.

Liquid turned on his heel and smirked at the sight; Emma had grabbed the SOCOM and was supporting herself with one arm against the wall while aiming at Liquid with the other. Liquid's smirk widened on further analysis- she wasn't using her dominant hand and she was shaking all over, she wouldn't have a chance in hell of hitting him. And before Liquid could subdue the girl, Raiden tackled him from behind, letting out another wordless cry as he did. The two men fell to the floor, rolling until they came to a stop. Raiden- seeing as he was on top- began to punch the living hell out of Liquid, wailing on the man's face until Liquid grabbed his fist mid-punch and, quick as a flash, brought his knife to Raiden's neck. He was glaring bloody murder up at Raiden, and the young operative gulped- oh _shit_.

And then, Liquid suddenly smiled. He pushed Raiden off casually before getting to his feet and brushing off his coat. Raiden got to his feet as well and was about to continue the fight, but Liquid held up his hand, stopping Raiden in his tracks. Now the young operative saw fit to make a perplexed face.

"Well now, you've passed with flying colors," Liquid remarked, "I'm fairly certain that you won't let any harm come to the young lady. Well, at least _now _you won't."

Raiden blinked a few times, unsure of what to say as Liquid looked over to Emma; "And besides, it looks like she's more than willing to pick up the slack if you can't properly defend her."

"… You're weird," Emma remarked from afar. Liquid just chuckled, dropped his knife, and kicked it over to Emma.

"Keep that. It might come in handy," Liquid remarked before waving and making his way back over to the water, diving in and swimming away… and smacking into a wall down there on his way out. Raiden just blinked a few more times before going over to Emma's side, picking up the knife, and handing it to her. She took it and handed him the SOCOM back with a small, semi-embarrassed blush.

"Uhm… thanks," Raiden awkwardly said, and Emma just smiled tentatively at him again.

"No, I should be thanking you," Emma replied with a small laugh, "I guess I should be glad that someone like you is watching out for me, huh?" Raiden couldn't help but smile in return. Something in him stirred, and he resolved that nothing like what had just happened would happen to her again- not on _his _watch, anyway.

Liquid swam back to the elevator- smacking into many walls on the way there- and was just about to start lamenting over his coat again when he stopped just short of the elevator. The floor was covered in sea lice. Liquid just stared at the little beasts; he _could _just walk through them, but having to swim had just put him in a fowl mood. No, he wanted to deal with the little buggers _violently_. Liquid fished out the rifle from his coat, called the lift, and aimed for the floor. Two clips later, the bugs had all either died or scattered, and Liquid was feeling much better. He strolled into the elevator, rode it up to the first floor, and strolled on out. There was a lone guard on the floor; Liquid considered being merciful and just sneaking past the man, but decided that it'd be easier for him, Raiden, _and _the girl if he just killed the man. Right as he was spotted, Liquid took aim and fired, shooting the man right between the eyes before moving on.

Liquid walked out onto the bridge and smiled- the sun was setting over the Hudson River, and it was pretty damn beautiful. He continued on his way, going out to the L-K connecting bridge before turning and looking over his shoulder. His smile widened as he saw Raiden and Emma just coming out of the core; Emma's legs looked less shaky, but she was still holding onto Raiden's hand for support. It was then that he spied something out of the corner of his eye. A CYPHER was floating about by Strut L, where the two were no doubt headed. Liquid smirked a bit- time to provide more help. He pulled his sidearm out again and took aim, shooting it down after a few seconds. It sparked violently before twirling down into the water below, a small trail of smoke following it down.

Raiden's eyes widened as the CYPHER suddenly fell from the sky, and he turned to where the shot had sounded from; there was Liquid on the L-K connecting bridge, sidearm in hand. Liquid turned to them and gave a lazy salute before he disappeared over the bridge. Raiden smiled just a bit while Emma blinked a few times in surprise.

"… Is he on our side or not?" Emma wondered, cocking her head to the side.

"I guess he is," Raiden answered with a shrug. Raiden proceeded to lead Emma across the bridge to Strut L, but he hit another roadblock. The door to Strut L was a Level 5 security door. Raiden frowned and slammed his hand against the door.

"What's wrong?" Emma asked.

"I don't have a level five security card! Damn!" Raiden replied.

Emma smirked impishly; "So you're giving up already?" He gave her a questioning look, and she held out a PAN card. "Ta-daa~!" Raiden took the card- it was level 5.

"Are you impressed?" Emma asked, still smirking.

"You should have told me you had it," Raiden remarked in a deadpan.

"Well, to be fair, it wasn't relevant until now," Emma retorted. He couldn't argue with that.

"Come on." According to the Colonel's instructions, the best way to get to Shell One was via the oil fence- a barrier over the water that connected the Struts. It was wide enough for a person to traverse, but it didn't look very strong. One person could _probably _get across it, perhaps two if one of them didn't weigh too much. But right now, the real challenge was getting to it. Raiden looked for the proper hatch inside Strut L, and once he found it he lifted it only for his eyes to widen when he saw the open-air ladder. It stretched all the war from the base of the strut down to the oil fence- it was about as long as a football field, but now that had Raiden wondering which kind of football he meant.

"I have a question for you," he said, looking over his shoulder at Emma.

"What is it?"

"How do you feel about heights?"

"I can't say I like heights, though water's higher on my phobia list. Why?"

"We have to go down a ladder."

"How far down."

"Just a _little _bit."

"Why do I feel like we've had this conversation before? How _little _is 'a little'?"

"About a hundred and thirty feet?"

Emma's eyes went wide like she was a deer in headlights; "_What?_"

"Think you can do it?"

"Would you take 'no' for an answer?"

"How are your legs?"

"Better. The numbness is gone. I can climb down on my own."

"Okay, follow me." Raiden lowered himself down through the hatch and onto the ladder. He went down a few rungs and waited for Emma to trail after him. She followed suit a few seconds later. Once they'd gotten moving at a slow and steady pace, Raiden took a moment to realize how late in the day it was. The sun was beginning to set and the temperature had dropped; strong wind was threatening to force them off the ladder, but they kept their grip and pushed on. Raiden reminded Emma not to look down and stay focused on the ladder. The climb took them nearly fifteen minutes, but they made it all the same to the bottom of the strut and the small pontoon platform that encircled it. While Raiden retrieved his binoculars to survey the oil fence, Emma leaned against the handrail.

"The sunset," she remarked, mystified, "It's beautiful." Raiden could definitely agree- the sun had painted the sky a fiery orange-red, and for a moment Raiden tried to remember the last time he'd seen a sunset like that (or, really, just the last time he'd watched the sun set at all).

"If we don't hurry, it'll be the last one we see," Raiden replied wryly. He went back to scanning the oil fence- it connected Struts L, G, D, and E. Around strut E, a couple of CYPHERS flew around the pontoon bridge. There were sentries on the pathway as well, and the bridge bobbed up and down with the movement of the sea. Periodically, waves would spray up between the fence's connecting points. There was a nagging feeling in the back of Raiden's mind, so he put his binoculars away and exchanged them for thermal goggles- sure enough, there were Claymore mines on the oil fence.

"Enemy soldiers, Claymore mines, and Gun CYPHERS," Raiden muttered, "I don't think we're going to be able to slip past all that." Raiden took off the thermal goggles and looked to the oil fence- it looked like it could barely support one person, but he had his doubts… Cautiously, Raiden made his way over the railing to test it. It bobbed up and down a bit when he first put his weight on it, but eventually it steadied itself.

"Well, it can support at least _one _person," Raiden remarked more to himself than to Emma.

Emma leaned over the bridge and asked, "So, uh, which one of us is going first?" Raiden put a hand to his chin as he thought that over; on the one hand, the bridge would probably be steadier if Emma went along it first, and he could always hang back and shoot down the guards and CYPHERS from a distance with the PSG-1, but… He thought back to Liquid's ambush. Sure, Emma had a knife now, but if something unexpected happened she probably couldn't defend herself. If he went ahead first, he could clear a path, but there was still always the unexpected…

He turned to Emma and said, "We're both going across, at the same time." The programmer's eyes widened and her 'deer in headlights' look returned.

"W-what? That thing isn't sturdy enough, it'll break and we'll fall into the sea!" Emma exclaimed, straightening up.

"If it does, then I'll be here to get you out of there," Raiden replied, remaining calm. Emma wouldn't trust him if he wasn't calm- it was like trying to get a wolf you'd hit with your car medical attention.

Eventually, Emma gulped and stammered, "O-okay, here I go." Emma tentatively made her way over the rail, and Raiden helped her onto the oil fence. It bobbed a bit more under their weight, causing Emma to let out another nervous squeak and cling to Raiden before the bridge stopped moving. It was still intact- both Raiden and Emma let out sighs of relief at that. Raiden put the thermal goggles back on and turned to the bridge- he spotted a Claymore halfway across to the next pontoon, pulled out the SOCOM, aimed and fired. The mine exploded in a cloud of smoke- now the sentries would be well aware of their presence. Raiden turned to Emma and gestured forwards with his head. She nodded, and the two of them kept moving along the bridge.

Then the gunfire began. A sentry had spotted them from the other end of the bridge; Emma immediately screamed and ducked while Raiden was quick to aim at him and return fire with the SOCOM. The guard jerked and fell into the sea, but two more were quick to take his place. Raiden pointed the SOCOM at one of them, let out a breath and fired. His head exploded into a fine red mist. Another gunshot resounded from over at Strut E, hitting the other guard and sending him plummeting into the water. Raiden looked to Strut E- he had to pull out his binoculars- and saw Snake with a sniper rifle. He waved to Raiden, and Raiden waved in return.

Raiden helped Emma back up and lead her along; soon enough the two of them were past Strut G and on the way to D. They were halfway there, and though Raiden wished they could move faster he knew that would more than likely put the bridge through more stress than it could handle. Raiden stopped and scanned the area, not seeing any sentries, but something felt… off. Without warning, a figure shot out of the water right before their eyes. Raiden's eyes widened when he finally got a good look at the figure.

"_Vamp!_" Raiden called out on reflex. The vampire lunged for Emma, and suddenly everything felt like it was going in slow motion. This was just like Liquid's ambush… no, he wouldn't let her get hurt! Not when he was here. Raiden gritted his teeth and acted entirely on instinct, tackling Vamp back into the water before he could reach Emma. Emma let out a cry of shock, got down on her knees and strained to see Raiden and Vamp underneath the water, but she couldn't.

Underneath the waves, Raiden slammed his fist into Vamp's face, his other hand clamped tightly around the vampire's neck. He repeatedly punched the vampire again and again, losing more and more oxygen as he exerted himself. The unearthly man wouldn't come back this time, he'd make sure of it. Vamp couldn't avoid the blows, but eventually he could take no more of it. He ripped Raiden's hand off of his throat and snarled at him, grabbing the young operative's throat and clamping down _hard_. Raiden struggled against him, kicking at Vamp's stomach, but he couldn't shake him off.

He reflexively opened his mouth to take in air, but water came rushing in and his eyes widened, almost bugging out of their skull. Vamp grinned a maniacal grin and clamped down harder, making Raiden gasp again. Raiden glared at him and, with the last of his strength, punched Vamp as hard as he could. The vampire finally let go of his windpipe and went reeling down into the ocean below. The young operative gasped again reflexively, drawing even more water into his lungs, he tried to swim, but he didn't have the strength, and the surface was too far away. He was going to drown. His vision was beginning to blur, and his thoughts were starting to lose coherence. Raiden eventually didn't even have the strength to keep his eyes open, and they slid shut as he began to sink into the ocean.

On the oil fence, Emma was still straining to get a good look down there. What was going on? She was frightened out of her mind, constantly wondering whether or not Raiden was alive. Suddenly, a shadow appeared beneath the waves. Emma gasped and stood up, stepping back a bit as the shadow grew larger. Was it Raiden? She kept a good grip on the knife that 'Liquid' guy had given her- it was her only line of defense right now.

The shadow broke through the waves, and Emma couldn't help out let out a shriek of fright- it was Vamp! If he had come up but Raiden hadn't, then… Emma suddenly glared at the unearthly man as he lunged for her again. Acting on pure adrenaline and- to her surprise- _anger_, Emma thrust the knife forward and plunged it right into the bullet wound in Vamp's forehead. Vamp let out a downright bloodcurdling cry of pain as Emma pulled the knife out again, and he went plummeting into the ocean again. Blood spread on the surface, and Emma for a moment had to catch her breath. Had she just… _killed someone? _Emma shook her head- now was not the time to think about the moral ramifications of this. She turned to where Raiden had first tackled Vamp into the water- he was still down there! Emma looked over to Strut E, to the water, and back again.

She then dropped the knife onto the oil fence, took off her glasses, took a deep breath, and dove into the water. She swam down past the 'body' of Vamp, searching around for Raiden. Emma looked around the murky water, her panic slowly rising as she both failed to see Raiden _and _realized what exactly she was doing. Oh, this was a _mistake_, why was she in the water, where was Raiden- _there! _Emma's courage returned as she saw Raiden slowly sinking just a few feet below. She swam down to him and grabbed his arms, working them around her shoulders like she was carrying him piggyback. She kept one hand on his arms to keep them together and used the other to desperately swim for the surface. She could feel her lungs screaming in protest, crying out for air, but she had to keep going, had to get Raiden to safety, had to get back…

Emma broke the surface of the water with a gasp, filling her tortured lungs with air again before turning to Raiden. He was barely breathing, and his eyes were shut… She dragged him through the water and onto the oil fence, grabbing her glasses and knife again and catching her breath. She turned to Raiden and, with great difficulty, hoisted him onto her back again. She dragged him the rest of the way to Strut E, and Snake met her halfway outside the makeshift guardhouse.

"We need to help him. He's still alive, but… we need to help him!" Emma exclaimed. Snake took him off her hands, carrying Raiden in his arms like he weighed as much as she did.

"Are you-" Snake began, but Emma cut him off with, "I'm fine! He's the one in trouble, you have to help _him!_" Snake nodded just a bit before rushing back inside the Strut, Emma on his heels. It took them less than three hundred seconds to get down to the computer room in the Shell 1 core, and once they were down there Emma brushed right past her brother to get to the computers.

"Before we can put in the worm cluster, I need to hack through GW's defensive capabilities," Emma said matter-of-factly, getting to work on doing just that. "Hal, Raiden should still have the worm cluster on the disk. Can you check to see if it was damaged from the water? The computer on the far left isn't connected to GW, you should be able to just look at it on that one." Otacon just kind of stood there for a second, dumbfounded, before realizing that Emma had actually asked him to do something. He was quick to retrieve the disk off of Raiden and also quick to plug in the disk to the specified computer.

After a few seconds, Otacon let out a relieved sigh; "We got lucky- the disk is intact and so is the virus."

Emma let out a sigh of her own; "Good. Pop it into this computer when I'm finished, okay?" Otacon nodded and ejected the disk before going to hover over Emma's shoulder as she plowed through GW's security measures with practiced ease. He looked around the room- the only sounds were that of Snake giving CPR, Emma typing, and the parrot squawking out something about Venusian crabs. He felt like he should say something… Well, it could wait until after they'd stopped an evil AI from blowing up New York. In a matter of minutes, Emma had finished.

"All right," she said with something of a smirk. "All we need to do is pop in the worm cluster." Her attention was brought away from that, however, by the sound of retching just behind her. She turned around in her chair- Raiden was sitting up and conscious again, though he had nearly thrown up on Snake (something the soldier didn't look too happy about).

"Welcome back, kid," Snake remarked semi-sarcastically. Raiden was about to reply, but he was caught off guard by Emma darting over to him and hugging him tighter than Raiden could recall being hugged before. Raiden blinked a few times in surprise before awkwardly hugging her in return.

"Uhm, thanks," Raiden properly responded as Emma pulled back from the hug.

Snake smirked at that; "You should be thanking Emma. She's the one who pulled you out of the water." Both Raiden _and _Otacon looked over at her with wide eyes, and she scratched the back of her neck with a bashful smile.

"E.E.? You…?", was all Otacon could manage.

Raiden, however, managed to smile and remark, "Looks like you got over your fear, Emma! I gotta say… I'm proud of you."

"Well, I got some great help," Emma replied, looking away with a small blush. "A-anyways, everything's all set up with GW. All we need to do is put in the worm cluster." She helped Raiden to his feet, and the two of them along with Snake made their way over to the terminal Emma had previously been working on. Otacon put in the disk, and all three men watched the progress bar intently as Emma finally noticed her parrot out of the corner of her eye.

She smiled and opened the cage, allowing for the parrot to flutter over to land on her shoulder; "Hey there, Clark~! Sorry for being away so long." Snake raised an eyebrow at the parrot's name.

"What? I like Superman," Emma said with a shrug before turning back to the screen. They all waited as the bar slowly filled… 50 percent… 60 percent… 70 percent…

"Is it working?" Raiden asked.

Suddenly, as if responding to Raiden's question, a warning alarm started beeping loudly on the computer. A virus detection program activated and an error message appeared.

"What the-?" Snake turned to Emma, who leaned in closer to the screen with a look of shock.

"Oh _crap_, an antibody agent…!" Then, just as the loading bar hit 90 percent, a bright red warning appeared on the monitor: DISCONNECTION!

"Damn!" Snake shouted, slamming his fist on the desk and frightening Clark into ruffling his feathers. "The connection's been cut!"

Raiden leaned in to look at the screen; "Is the virus upload complete?"

"No, the count stopped at ninety percent," Emma muttered, "I didn't make any mistakes, but… Oh crap, that's probably it."

"What's it?" Raiden asked.

"They must've altered the virus once it left me," Emma replied, her fingers flying across the keyboard as she tried desperately to get the virus working again.

"By the Patriots?"

"Will the virus still work?" Snake blurted. Emma stood up straight and ran a hand through her hair.

"… I don't know," she answered before letting out a sigh as the screen went black. "Great. Glad to know I'll be adding another page to our family's dark history." Otacon stumbled over trying to say something to console his sister, but Raiden putting a hand on her shoulder made his efforts moot. Her shoulders relaxed a bit, and though she still looked upset, she looked a little less so. Otacon bit the inside of his lower lip and went back to staring at the black screen.

Raiden then turned to Snake; "What if the virus doesn't work?"

"We either destroy that thing, or take out Solidus and his men," Snake replied matter-of-factly.

"How do we get on board?"

"I don't think we can unless somebody inside gives us a hand."

Suddenly, there was a loud burst of static over the Shell-wide PA system before Solidus's voice announced, "Attention! Arsenal Gear is ready for launch! Evacuate the upper levels immediately!"

Snake cursed under his breath and said, "Sounds like they're cutting this area loose!"

"What do you mean?" Emma asked shakily.

"It means we're going to sink," Otacon answered for him.

"We have to get the hostages out!" Snake said.

"What about the Kamov repairs?" Raiden asked.

"Done," Otacon replied.

"We won't be able to get everybody aboard," Raiden noted.

Snake nodded but said, "We'll just have to take as many as we can."

The PA blasted another short announcement; "We will be commencing the countdown shortly. All personnel in the upper levels- head down for the evacuation area immediately."

"Otacon," Snake said, "Take care of the hostages. And take Emma with you."

"What about you guys?" Emma asked.

"We've got other arrangements," Snake replied, indicating the window through which the massive access hatch of Arsenal Gear could be seen. "There's our ride out of here. Anyway, we're gonna have to sink that thing if the virus doesn't work."

"I should be going with you," Otacon remarked, and Emma gave him a look like he was insane. Clark put in his two cents by ruffling his feathers and squawking "Hal!"

"You've got your job, we've got ours," Snake replied, "You're the only one who can save the hostages, got it?"

"Yeah. Right." Otacon took a breath before addressing the two soldiers; "Listen. The two of you all on your own won't be able to destroy that thing. Eliminate the enemy. That's your only option." The four of them left the computer room and went down the hall to Arsenal Gear's access hatch. Raiden glanced to Snake, who nodded. Clark continued to squawk 'Hal' over and over and over again.

Otacon eventually looked over to Emma and asked, "Why does he keep saying 'Hal'?" Emma's 'deer in headlights' look made a surprise appearance.

"Uh… This is no time for that! We need to focus on getting the hostages, right Snake?" Emma asked in an overly defensive manner.

"… Yeah," Snake replied. "Try to get as many hostages out as you can. It's a short flight to shore, so don't worry about overloading the Kamov."

Otacon nodded, finally looking determined; "Leave it to me." The two members of Philanthropy proceeded to perform an elaborate handshake that cannot be described in words. And it ended in what can only be called a bro-hug. Emma couldn't help but smile through all her resentment- after so many years, her brother had a friend. Raiden, meanwhile, was busy wishing for the first time in years that he had friends.

Otacon broke the hug and turned to his sister; "Let's go, Emma."

Emma's eyes widened as she followed after Otacon into the elevator; "Wait, Emma? What happened to E.E.?" The doors closed and the lift began to rise to the B1 level. Raiden had to smile just a bit before turning to the door.

"Now, how do we open this thing?" Raiden studied the door before turning to Snake. The soldier had a gleam in his eye that Raiden didn't quite trust.

"You can come out now!" Snake called. As if from nowhere, the cyborg ninja dropped down and landed gracefully on its feet right in front of Snake.

Raiden nearly jumped in shock; "The ninja! What the-?"

The ninja brandished its katana and stood up to its full height; "Arsenal Gear is going to take off." Raiden turned to Snake for an explanation, but the older man just ignored him.

"We still need you to take care of some things," the ninja said to Snake.

"Snake! What's all this about?" Raiden demanded.

Snake only responded with, "Bedtime, Raiden."

"You're changing side _now_?" Raiden exclaimed, outraged.

"Changing sides?" Snake echoed. "I don't recall saying I was on yours."

Raiden let out a low growl; "Damn it!" The ninja then switched off the device in its helmet that created a face shield. The covering cleared to reveal… Olga Gurlukovich.

"You!" Raiden exclaimed.

"Ready for some shut-eye?" She asked sarcastically. An electric charge suddenly issued from the sword, enveloping Raiden in a current that shocked his entire body. His nanomachines resonated with the current and released plasma bolts. He cried out in pain and dropped to the floor, unconscious again.

Thirty minutes later, Otacon took off in the Kamov loaded with hostages. Clark had perched on his shoulder while Emma looked out of the chopper window. As the helicopter ascended, a loud rumbling reverberated over the Big Shell. Everyone in the helicopter watched with horror as the Struts shook like they were caught in an earthquake. The dark water of the bay flooded the struts, and then massive explosions rocked the entire structure.

"Oh my God… It's rising," Emma whispered.

Down below, Liquid grinned and hissed, "It's _finally _rising~!" With that, he shut the cockpit of Metal Gear RAY and dove into the water, swimming alongside Arsenal Gear as the hulking beast sped towards New York.


	11. Chapter 10: Arsenal's Guts

_LAST TIME, Liquid stalked Raiden some more, put Emma in danger so he could test Raiden's mettle, then we stopped focusing on him so we could see Raiden and Emma sneak around, Raiden tackling Vamp into the water, Emma character developing her way into saving Raiden, Otacon just standing there being awkward, nothing really changing except for Emma surviving, and Raiden getting knocked the fuck out while Liquid decided to swim around like a fish beside Arsenal Gear because he has no plan. Now… This is gonna be a new one. This is going to be the first chapter that barely focuses on Liquid at all. Mostly because Liquid has nothing interesting or too plot-relevant to do ;D Nope, we're focusing on Raiden and- for the first time in several chapters- Regina~! And, actually, I am very sorry about that. Please don't eat me. SO, let's get formalities out of the way. I don't own anything, except for this story, all changes in canon character design brought about by the story, all OCs, the laptop I'm writing this on, the bed I'm sitting on as I'm writing this, and the Nintendo DS I'm trying not to play. Alright, let's roll._

_**-Arsenal's Guts-**_

Deep within the heart of New York City, Regina Taylor was busy leaping out of a window. The Canadian woman went tumbling end over end as she hit the ground before coming to a not so graceful stop at the other side of the alleyway. Well, that's what she got for doing a running leap at full speed out of a window that was only three or four feet off the ground. She shook her head and got to her feet, attempting to get her bearings again, but as she finally retrieved them she heard voices shouting from the window and broke out into a run out of the alleyway and towards not-so-seedy parts of the city. She gritted her teeth as she ran, looking over her shoulder- she was rustier at this whole 'stealth' thing than she thought if it had only taken them five hours to figure out she was in the building.

As she ran, zig-zagging through alleyways to throw the Patriot operatives off her tracks, she called Liquid on Codec; _"Liquid! Guess what?" _

_"What?" _Liquid asked, his image on the Codec monitor looking quite puzzled by her sudden call.

_"The test that the Patriots are running Raiden through is called the S3 Plan," _Regina began, _"Otherwise known as the Selection for Societal Sanity Plan. They're basically mad that people are dicking around on the internet, so they're testing how well they can manipulate world events and the decisions of individual people. Because they're uncreative, they decided to recreate Shadow Moses. Using the data they're getting from this exercise, their AIs will be improved even further." _

_"I'll need to crash this thing to get rid of that data then, won't I," _Liquid wondered, smirking. Regina finally broke out of the back alleys and into the crowded streets of New York, running as fast as she could and ducking down to hide her _very _noticeable, nearly-white hair. She glanced over her shoulder- there weren't any Patriot goons in sight. They might've just been swallowed by the crowd, but she couldn't take any chances. She kept her head down and slowed down to a brisk walk.

_"Yeah, you will," _Regina replied. _"I sent Naomi some access codes, and she's working on connecting RAY to GW's guidance system. You'll be able to crash it no problem then."_

_"Thank you, Regina," _Liquid said, but then his smirk fell. _"… Tell me, how exactly have they been manipulating Raiden?"_

Regina quirked an eyebrow, but replied, _"Well, GW basically just impersonated Colonel Campbell and his girlfriend Rosemary, and the two of them basically just bossed him around. He's the kind of guy who follows orders, y'know. And they apparently feel like breaking his resolve by telling him his girlfriend's a spy for the Patriots and has been since they met." _

_"Wait- is she?" _

_"No, but the Patriots manipulated her so much that she ended up being a spy without knowing it. You wanna know how intense it got? They've bugged _every single piece of clothing she owns_. And they've sent people to keep her locked in her apartment so that she can't leave and _somehow _disrupt the mission."_

Liquid was silent for a moment before ordering, _"Regina, I want you to find this woman and keep her out of the Patriots' hands." _

Regina stopped walking, her large eyes widening in shock; _"What? But- I just got finished running away from Patriot goons, if I go and get her they'll be on me all over again!" _

_"That's an _order_, Regina," _Liquid snapped before cutting off the call. Regina let out a low growl and was about to kick the nearest person before she noticed a soda can on the ground by her feet. Instead of kicking someone, Regina just angrily tossed the can into the nearest recycling bin.

Liquid looked back out of RAY's windscreen as he cut off the transmission; he was keeping an even pace with Arsenal Gear as the hulking monstrosity made its way towards New York. He nodded, but just as a precaution moved RAY just a bit closer to Arsenal's hull. He couldn't afford to lose sight of the thing- if he did, there was no _way _Arsenal was crashing. However, right as Liquid thought that, a red light suddenly appeared off in the distance. Liquid's eye narrowed as the light drew closer and closer- he knew who _this _was. And he was right- as soon as he was in range, Liquid could identify the light as the main 'eye' of the Bizarro RAY. The Bizarro RAY sent a hailing frequency, and Liquid- however reluctantly- answered it, opening a communications channel between them. A subscreen appeared in the bottom-left corner of his windscreen. And it just showed an empty cockpit.

Liquid blinked a few times to gather his thoughts before remarking, "Well, given that I'm not speaking to a person, I can only assume that this is GW?"

A computerized voice responded, "_Correct. Liquid Snake, you are an Unknown Variable. Your continued existence is a detriment to the S3 Plan. Please, do not struggle as We eliminate you._"

Liquid just let out a maniacal cackle; "All I can say to that is heed your own advice, GW! Be a good little AI and let me blow you up with one missile." GW promptly closed the channel, which prompted another cackle from Liquid.

"Good, then it's a battle," Liquid hissed. Immediately he fired an anti-ship missile at the GW-controlled Bizarro RAY, and the Bizarro RAY countered with a missile of its own. The two missiles exploded the minute they met, and the Bizarro RAY came swimming at a dizzying speed towards Liquid with its machine guns firing. RAY swerved around the bullets, swimming until it was right next to Arsenal. The Bizarro RAY turned to face RAY, but stopped abruptly. Liquid smirked- of _course _it wouldn't shoot at its own body. He'd just found himself a battle tactic.

Back on land, Regina was busy sneaking up the fire escapes of Rosemary's apartment building with some recently stolen clothes slung over her shoulder. Her digging had thankfully uncovered the analyst's address, though Regina was struggling to remember whether or not Rose's apartment was by the fire escapes on _this _side of the building or the other side. She took a moment to look out over the city as she was about to climb the last fire escape to Rose's floor- the city was ablaze with lights, especially around the harbor… Regina bit her lip and allowed herself for just a moment to hope that Liquid would come out of this alright. She then continued up the fire escape ladder, but she had to stop there to avoid being hit by a shower of broken glass from the window just above her. She immediately ducked and covered her face, shielding it from the broken glass, and waited a few seconds before looking back up.

And it looked like her questions were answered, for climbing out onto the fire escape right now with a vase in hand was a very panicked-looking Rosemary. She was a pretty young woman, with long dark hair, pale skin and dark eyes. And she'd apparently used a vase to break her window. Right then, Rose looked her way and nearly froze up like a deer in headlights.

Regina just stared at her for a few seconds before asking, "Are you Rosemary Bennett?"

"… That depends on who you are," Rosemary replied warily.

Regina stood up and nodded before replying, "I'm Regina Taylor, resident Canadian of the three-peson Outer Heaven, and I'm here to rescue you from the people keeping you stuck in your apartment."

Rosemary quirked an eyebrow before glaring and snapping, "No, I bet you're one of them. Stay away from me- I have a vase!"

Regina frowned, eyebrow twitching; "Okay, _first_, you have no right to call me one of them seeing as I just got done running from them and am now risking my ass to get you out of here because my boss has a soft spot for your boyfriend. _Second_, I have a knife _and _a gun. Your vase is kind of moot compared to those."

Rose's expression softened to one of confusion; "My boyfriend? You mean Jack?"

"Yes, Jack," Regina replied, "He's currently out there risking his life against the same people keeping you locked in your apartment. And so is my boss. Currently, those same people are attempting to break Jack's trust in you _and _break his brain by lying and saying you're a spy, which you kind of are but not on purpose. So, we're on the same side here. Let's get going before the goons outside your door finally catch on, eh?"

Rose blinked a few times, trying to process all that horribly explained information, but then nodded in assent. Regina nodded as well before running back down the fire escape with Rose right behind her (keeping a good hold on the vase). When they got to the ground again, Regina turned to Rose and held out the clothes she'd been carrying this whole time. Rose quirked an eyebrow in confusion yet again.

"You'll need to change into these," Regina said. "And before you accuse me of being some kind of lesbian rapist, I'm giving you these because every single piece of clothing you own is bugged so that those dicks up there can keep an eye on Jack."

Rose just stared at her in what can only be described as 'what the hell'; "That's… that's ridiculous! Nobody would go to _those _lengths just to spy on Jack through me!"

Regina's expression flattened and she asked in a deadpan, "Have you ever noticed how since you started dating Jack you've set off metal detectors every time you go through them even after you've gotten rid of all your metal things?"

"… Give me those," Rose muttered, snatching the clothes out of Regina's hands and ducking behind the nearby dumpster to change. Regina's head suddenly whipped up at the sound of voices from above; she cursed under her breath at what she saw. The Patriot goons had finally caught on and were making their way down- she readied her knife as Rosemary finished changing into the oversized white button-down shirt and jeans Regina had provided for her. She winced- there weren't any shoes for her. She'd have to go barefoot, wouldn't she? The analyst turned to ask her 'new friend' this question, but Regina shushed her. Rose followed her eyes and saw the goons coming down the fire escape. She readied her vase.

When the goons hit the ground, Regina struck like a cobra, stabbing the forefront man in the jugular and twisting the knife just for good measure. Blood spurted out of his neck like a fountain, and Regina pushed the bleeding-out guard out of the way to get to the next one. He pulled a knife of his own on Regina, slashing at her face, but she ducked underneath and kicked the man in the groin. He immediately knelt over to clutch his wounded… 'pride', and Regina took that opportunity to stab him in the forehead. Right as she pulled out the knife, she turned to the last guard and froze. He was pointing a shotgun right at her. She tensed up, ready to dodge when he pulled the trigger, but before he could… a vase smashed into his head from the side, sending him down like a ton of bricks. Regina turned to Rose, eyes wide.

"I'd been wanting to do that to him since he first locked me in," she said with a grin. Regina robbed the unconscious man of his shotgun and all shells he was carrying for it, then turned to Rose again.

"You want this? We'll probably meet a bunch more resistance if we don't lose their inevitable reinforcements in the crowd," Regina asked.

Rose grimaced and replied, "I'll stick to my vase."

Regina shrugged; "Alright, let's go." With that, the two women ran out into New York City, looking so suspicious that it wasn't even funny. As Rose avoided broken glass and other debris while also trying to keep an eye on Regina, she wondered what exactly Jack was having to put up with right now.

Meanwhile, on Arsenal Gear, Raiden was making his way into Arsenal's 'Ascending Colon'. He was naked, his gear was nowhere to be found, his C.O. had been spouting nonsense at him with highly distorted CODEC images, and his girlfriend had just revealed herself to be a spy and just barely got to revealing that she was pregnant before her transmission had cut off. His mind was a complete jumble, and the only certain thing was that he had to find Snake and his gear. He'd probably freeze to death if he didn't, and though that'd release him from his current existential crisis it wouldn't really help the _real _world.

A familiar voice rang out; "Amazing how you walk around like that."

Raiden turned to the voice's source; "Snake!" Sure enough, the soldier was there, leaning on a wall. He'd ditched the SEAL uniform for an older FOXHOUND sneaking suit, only slightly different from the one he'd worn in Shadow Moses. His ever-iconic bandanna was around his forehead, and looking at him now Raiden wondered how he'd ever thought this man was anyone other than Solid Snake.

"Where's my gear?" Raiden asked in a whisper.

"Right over there," Snake replied, gesturing with his head over to a pile of weapons and other such equipment. Raiden was quick to get dressed again- he'd begun to miss the Skull Suit's pressure on his torso. In seconds he was fully equipped once again, and just a tiny bit of confidence had returned to his severely jumbled mind.

"Sorry about earlier," Snake said, "I had to use you as bait to gain access to Arsenal. It worked."

"Why didn't you tell me about Olga?" Raiden demanded.

"You never asked," Snake replied simply, and Raiden grunted in frustration. "Not happy about that? Get over it."

Raiden just sighed; "Any effects of the virus yet?"

"Still waiting on that."

"So it was rigged by the Patriots?"

"Looks like it. From what I can tell, Arsenal is headed for Manhattan. I don't know what Solidus is planning, but we'll have to deal with it one way or another. We'll probably have to deal with that incomplete RAY up ahead as well."

"How powerful do you think that thing is?"

"I've faced worse. A few Stinger missiles should take it down." Snake gestured to some boxes he'd hidden off to the side of the corridor. "Oh yeah, Olga left this for you." He handed Raiden a katana, and the operative took it, marveling over how graceful and powerful it looked. He'd always had a soft spot for swords- though he'd never used one.

"Why?"

"Olga asked me to give it to you. Besides, I'm not a big fan of blades." Raiden swung the sword about through the air, testing it out.

"We're going to have plenty of company ahead. This is your last chance to practice. It's a high frequency blade. You know how it works?"

"A little bit." Raiden tested the blade's electronic capabilities. For some obscure reason, he was getting the hang of this rather quickly. He attempted a few maneuvers- uppercuts, chops, spinning-slashes, quick stabs… The sword already felt like an extension of his arm.

"You had VR with swords?" Snake asked, raising an eyebrow at Raiden's sudden proficiency.

"No, but I like this," Raiden replied, smiling just a bit.

"Come on. Time to go," Snake said, back on topic. "I understand that several members of the Gurlukovich army were trained as Tengu warriors in order to protect Arsenal Gear's inner sanctums."

"Tengu?"

"They wear armor that's protected from biochemical environments and have masks inside their helmets to help them breathe. They run faster and are stronger than your average soldier, so be ready." Raiden sheathed the sword on his hip and both he and Snake picked up the Stinger launchers; but, something was nagging at him…

"Wait up, Snake," Raiden said as his confidence began to drain and all his jumbled confusion came to the forefront once again.

"What?" Snake asked.

Raiden paused before asking, "Snake, have you ever… _enjoyed_ killing someone?"

Snake raised an eyebrow; "What are you talking about?"

"I'm not sure. Sometimes it's hard to tell the difference between reality and a game."

"Diminished sense of reality, huh? VR training will do that." He kept on walking through the 'Colon', and Raiden followed behind him.

"No, it was field training, when I was a kid. I lied, Snake. I have more field experience that I can remember. It's not VR that's doing this to me."

Snake narrowed his eyes; "Raiden, we don't carry guns to take people down. We're not here to help some politician, either."

"You can say that because you're a legend, a hero. I'm Jack the Ripper, a dirty reminder… of a terrible mistake."

"Legends don't mean a whole lot. I was just a name to exploit. Just like you."

"People will only remember the good part, the right part of what you did."

"There's no right part in murder, not ever. And we're not in this to make a name for ourselves."

"Then what are you and Otacon fighting for?"

"A future. You can stop being part of a mistake starting now."

"What am I… what am I supposed to do?" They came to a closed hatch, and Snake used a key card to open it. They went through and continued on walking.

"Find something to believe in," Snake answered. "And find it for yourself. And when you do, pass it on to the future."

"Believe in what?"

"That's your problem. Come on." The Codec chirped in both of their ears, and they answered it.

Otacon's image appeared on the monitor; "Snake! Raiden!"

"Otacon! Are you all right?" Snake asked.

"Yeah. So is Emma, and the hostages."

"That's good news," Raiden commented.

"How's everything on your end?"

"All right for now, but there is something…"

"What?"

"The Colonel's last few transmissions were strange," Raiden explained.

"Strange? How?"

Raiden dug about for a way to explain the Colonel spouting gibberish about purple stuffed worms and Hara Kiri rock; "Just… strange. No idea-"

"Interference?"

"I don't know."

"Where is this Colonel?"

"I don't know. I've never met the man, actually."

Otacon adjusted his glasses; "I'll dig around."

"Thanks. I owe you one."

"If there's anything else, call me on Codec." The scientist signed off as Raiden and Snake came across a hatch marked ILEUM. Snake swiped the key card, but didn't open the hatch all the way.

He turned to Raiden and whispered, "I have a bad feeling about this. Watch out." Raiden gave a small nod, and the two soldiers slowly entered the space. Faster than Raiden could process, the two men were immediately surrounded by a troop of masked soldiers. They could only be the Arsenal Tengu. Some of the men were equipped with swords, others with AKs. Those with guns immediately opened fire, and both Snake and Raiden instinctively leapt for cover on opposite sides of the room. Raiden set down the Stinger launcher and, almost instinctively, drew the sword. Something about it made him feel far more confident and sure of himself, something he _really _needed right now.

Snake signaled him and Raiden nodded his assent; they both rushed out and ran forward, Snake blasting away with his SOCOM while Raiden deflected the rain of bullets with just his blade. It was a beautiful weapon, and using its high frequency capabilities to knock the enemy projectiles away like they were nothing felt… well, it felt _fantastic_. Snake shot down the front line of Tengu, and Raiden met a pair of the sword-bearing soldiers head on. The swords clashed, the sound of metal on metal ringing out through the bowels of Arsenal as sparks flew everywhere. Raiden performed a spinning slash, slicing his opponents nearly in half. He moved on, advancing along with Snake. Snake charged with the SOCOM blazing, no longer an operative bent on stealth but a warrior aiming to destroy anything in his path. It was inspiring, and watching him made Raiden feel even more like a warrior himself.

Raiden blocked a steady burst of fire from a Tengu at the back, pausing to stab a soldier attempting to ambush him. The Tengu were definitely in a class of their own compared to the soldiers Raiden had encountered before, but then again compared to _those _men… Raiden hadn't bothered to count the men he'd downed, but in two minutes they were all dead and Raiden had to suppress the urge to count the bodies as they lay dead on the floor. Snake looked to Raiden, who just grinned in return… and for a second was actually wishing that Liquid Snake had been here to fight with them. With _him_, they more than likely would've been through these men in seconds- Raiden nearly shook his head. Just because Liquid had helped him and was going against Solidus (he supposed) didn't make him a good person. At all. Ever. In the history of forever.

Otacon broke Raiden's little monologue by calling on the Codec; "Raiden? About this Colonel of yours… I found out where he is."

"Where?"

"Inside Arsenal."

Raiden's blue eyes widened to twice their size; "_What?_"

"I've checked out all the possibilities, but I keep coming back to Arsenal. It isn't a relay point. It's the origin of the signal. And the encryption protocol it uses is exactly the same as that of Arsenal's AI- the so-called GW."

"What the hell does this mean?"

"I think it means you've been talking to an AI."

"That's impossible!"

"The Colonel probably isn't GW per se. GW was most likely stimulating cortical activity in the dormant part of your brain through signal manipulation of your own nanomachines. The Colonel is in part your own creation, cobbled together from expectations and experience."

"That's crazy!"

"But it's probably the truth. The virus may be starting to affect GW, which would explain the Colonel's behavior."

Raiden didn't know what to think; "It was all an illusion? Everything I've done so far…?"

"Raiden!" Snake snapped, bringing Raiden's attention out of his mind and onto the world around him.

"Snake, what's going on around here?" Raiden asked, sounding far more desperate than he would've liked. But he _was _desperate! This was crazy, he couldn't be imagining all this! He was starting to get a headache…

"I don't know," Snake replied, "What I do know is that you're standing right here in front of me- a flesh and blood man." Raiden could feel his headache getting worse.

"It's your call," the older operative continued, "You can drop this if you want." Raiden looked around at the bodies of the Tengu and the interior of Arsenal Gear… No, he was too far in. As much as part of him wanted to curl up in a corner and slowly lose his mind, that wasn't an option right now.

"No," he said, "I can't do that. Let's go." The soldiers retrieved the stinger launchers and moved on to a new section of Arsenal Gear. It was a large, circular room with a high ceiling called the 'Sigmoid Colon'. In all honesty, Raiden was seriously starting to get creeped out by all these digestive system-related names for areas. It looked like an arena, except instead of stands for an audience there were doors on the far side of the room and a rung ladder stretching up one wall into the darkness near the ceiling. The Codec chirped in his ear- the Colonel. Raiden seriously contemplated answering it… And, in a move that actually surprised _him_, he didn't answer. He needed his sanity right now, and he'd lose more of it if he bothered listening to the lies and nonsense of the Colonel.

Raiden instead just looked about the room; "Why do I have a feeling that we're walking into an ambush?"

"Empty rooms give off that kind of feeling," Snake replied, "We can't let our guard down." Raiden nodded, and the two men began walking again. When they reached the center of the room, the lights flickered for a split second, and Raiden could hear an odd sliding sound- and a dozen more sword-wielding Tengu dropped from the ceiling on ropes, surrounding Snake and Raiden.

"I knew it," Raiden muttered. He dropped the Stinger launcher again and unsheathed the katana while Snake readied the SOCOM, and the pair of warriors stood back to back to face the newcomers.

For a few seconds, nothing happened. It was your typical Mexican Standoff, everyone pointing their weapons at each other but nobody firing a single shot. The Tengus made the first move, one of the commandos lunging at Snake with his blade raised. Snake immediately opened fire on the attacking Tengu, who blocked the bullets effortlessly. The other commandos took that as a cue to attack all at once. Raiden swiftly and surely slashed his sword back and forth, clashing with the Tengu's swords and cutting through any flesh he could catch. Snake kept on firing and dodging blows from his opponent's blade. Finally he scored a hit on the Tengu, sending him crashing to the floor in a puddle of blood. Snake turned to the other soldiers, immediately having to dodge another sword so he wouldn't get cleaved in half. Snake rolled between two soldiers and came up behind them, shooting them down the second he was on his feet again. Snake smirked just a bit- he could now get to the other Tengu Raiden wasn't busy with. Said Tengu rushed the soldier, but he was far faster and he mowed them down with practiced ease and precision.

Raiden performed another spin attack, decapitating a few of his opponents nigh-simultaneously. The remaining two Tengu began to retreat, but Raiden advanced right after them. He swung the sword with confidence, the blade striking one of the Tengu across the chest. The final Tengu attempted a last stand, but it was hopeless. Raiden cut him down within seconds, performed a sharp swing to remove the blood from his sword, and slid it back into the sheath. It was over in seconds, and silence reigned again. But then, a hatch opened, and the infamous Fortune strolled inside with her monstrous rail gun by her side. The two soldiers watched her approach until she stopped a few yards away.

"It's been a long wait, Solid Snake- the root of all my sorrows," Fortune proclaimed dramatically.

"What?" Snake asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

"Two years ago you killed my father," Fortune explained, "That was the beginning of hell for us. Everyone I love has been taken from me one by one… and no matter how hard I try I can't follow them. An endless nightmare… The only thing we live for is to see it end. Our wait is almost over."

Raiden had to speak up; "You can't be serious about firing the nuke!"

"Since no one can kill me, I may as well kill everyone I can," she replied, disturbingly casual about it. "Starting with _you_, Solid Snake!" She dragged her rail gun off the ground and aimed it straight at Snake.

Snake readied his SOCOM- a measly defense against the rail gun, but it was all he had; "Looks like I'm today's pick." He looked over to Raiden. "You go on ahead." He gestured with his head to the ladder, but Raiden shook his head- he couldn't leave Snake! He had to stay and fight, his sword probably had a chance of hitting her, he had to stay!

"You want eternal rest? I've got it right here," Snake growled at Fortune.

"What are you going to do? Bullets can't hit her," Raiden whispered harshly.

"I'll think of something," Snake replied. "There's no such thing as a witch."

"You think you can kill me?" Fortune sneered, shifting the rail gun.

"I don't know what your group's been through," Snake said, "but let's get one thing clear- I didn't kill General Dolph."

"Do you think anyone believes your lies?"

"Raiden, get out of here!" Snake shouted. Raiden lingered for a second before swallowing, picking up the Stinger launcher, and went for the ladder. He hesitated for just a second right as he got on it, looking back at his friend.

"Go!" Snake yelled. Raiden took a deep breath and began his climb- he had to put his faith in Snake's abilities. He had a job to do, and now he was doing it alone.

Outside of Arsenal Gear, RAY rammed into its unfinished counterpart, smashing it into Arsenal's hull. Liquid readied an anti-ship missile, but the Bizarro RAY swam out of the way faster than Liquid could process. He looked around for it, and nearly jumped when he finally caught it behind him charging up its water cutter. He fired the missile he'd been readying, but GW was much faster when it came to changing strategies. Bizarro RAY unleashed its water cutter, cutting the missile clean in half and swimming out of the way of the ensuing explosion. RAY fired a pair of cluster bombs, and the Bizarro RAY countered with a cluster bomb of its own, blowing the three of them up prematurely.

Liquid ground his teeth; _damn _that AI! It was barely even fighting back, just running and countering! If there was one thing Liquid hated as much as his father and his brother, it was stalemates. Liquid was about to ready another missile, but suddenly the Bizarro RAY stopped and began to tread water. Liquid furrowed his eyebrows, and suddenly GW opened the communications channel again. Liquid winced- it was just _weird _staring at an empty cockpit.

"_You are lucky, Liquid Snake. This unit is being called away. Do not expect your luck to last,_" the AI said in a perfect monotone. With that, the Bizarro RAY swam at lightning speed under Arsenal Gear and out of Liquid's line of sight. Liquid's eyebrows furrowed further- what could they possibly need it for? … Wait. This whole situation was supposed to be a copy of Shadow Moses… Raiden would have to fight that thing. Liquid took a deep breath and continued to swim alongside Arsenal, hoping that Raiden was skilled enough to take it down.

Within Arsenal Gear, Raiden gritted his teeth as Solidus flew into view, propelled by an accelerator attached to the back of his armor. After hearing all that he just heard about this S3 Plan and how Solidus had used him yet again- just like in Liberia- Raiden wanted nothing more than to decapitate the ex-president right here and now. Solidus stopped some distance in front of the operative, still wearing the mechanical tentacles Raiden had first seen when he arrived in Arsenal and carrying a P90 high-powered assault rifle.

"No more games, Raiden," the man said. "At least you know. There's no reason to keep you alive now…" The far wall suddenly opened, water spilling out into the room. Raiden's eyes widened as the strange, black and silver RAY leapt into the room, the walls closing behind it. It slid across the floor and skidded to a halt a mere four yards from him. It leaned down as close to Raiden as it could get, and Raiden could only into its one mechanical red eye. It opened its massive beak and let out a horrible, metallic roar, right in Raiden's face. It nearly deafened the operative, but he was able to glare at the machine as it stood back up to its full height.

"I've given you a worthy opponent, at least," Solidus announced with a smug, insufferable smirk. "But now you should die as the the little Jackie boy I once knew." Solidus accelerated back into the shadows with a maniacal laugh, and Raiden was alone with the gigantic mecha. Before Raiden could think of a strategy, the black RAY unleashed a burst of machine gun fire from one of the pods on the end of its wing. Raiden used the sword to block the bullets, but soon enough he found that there were far too many coming in far too rapidly for him to block. He leapt out of the way- the sword wouldn't help him now. He'd need to use the Stinger, but he didn't know which parts of them were vulnerable!

The black RAY opened its face plate and fired a blast from its water cutter at him. Raiden was quick to run forward between the beast's legs, but the RAY was quick to turn around and fire an anti-tank missile after him. Raiden leapt and rolled out of the way, but the explosion sent him flying meters from his intended destination. Raiden was slightly dazed, but he shook it off and picked himself up, readying the Stinger launcher. Before he could even finish loading, the beast turned on him and fired its water cutter again. Raiden cartwheeled out of the way, but the RAY sent another blast his way.

Raiden avoided the onslaught, but his options were running low- the chaff grenades! Those would slow down the electrical beast, he was sure of it. The operative retrieved a handful of them and turned to face the beast as it moved into a position to attack. Raiden smirked a bit- it was having a bit of trouble trying to fight something so small (compared to it, anyway). He pulled the pin out of one of the chaffs and chucked it at the RAY. It exploded and the RAY immediately stopped in its tracks. Raiden pulled the AK off of his back and let loose some spray fire. The bullets dented the bits of weak armor that the incomplete RAY did have, but it pierced through the showing machinery and damaged the machine-gun pods and missile tubs in the RAY's knees.

Right as Raiden holstered the AK, the RAY came to life once more. It roared at Raiden once more, and Raiden leapt for the Stinger launcher. He landed right next to it, and as he picked it up the RAY opened its face plate to fire yet another burst from its water cutter. _That _had to be its weak point. He was sure of it. Raiden aimed the launcher just beneath the faceplate and fired. It was a direct hit, and the RAY let out a tortured roar. It kept wailing as its wings thrashed violently about, the machine guns firing several bursts in random directions. The gigantic mecha stumbled forward, and Raiden ran out of its way, but it didn't follow him. It simply leaned forward, froze for a moment, then collapsed in a heap. He'd done it…

But then the RAY's one red eye began to glow anew, and the mecha leapt to its feet once more. It let out yet another roar, and Raiden could only stare up at it in horror. How in the hell…?

"It's no use," Raiden whispered. This thing was better constructed than he'd thought… He was no Snake, he'd never beat it! The RAY advanced towards Raiden, ready- no, _eager_ to deliver the _coup de grace_.

"I expected a little more fight than that, Jack!" Solidus called from the darkness. Raiden closed his eyes and braced himself… But seconds later, he was still alive. He opened his eyes, only for them to widen. Olga Gurlukovich was standing before him, staring down the black RAY. The RAY paused, actually looking puzzled.

"So, you've decided to show yourself," Solidus remarked.

When the situation finally registered in his mind, Raiden immediately exclaimed, "Olga, don't do this! They'll know-"

"I'll hold it off, give you time to get away," she replied, calm and determined.

"What about you?" She was silent. "This is suicide!"

She paused before saying calmly, "Your nanomachines- they're transmitting your vital signs to the Patritots. If you die, my child dies. Do you understand?"

"The child…" That's right, Olga's child… The reason she got involved in all of this in the first place. Raiden suddenly felt inexplicably guilty- she'd die because he was keeping her child alive. If he wasn't involved-

Solidus's voice boomed over any other sound once again; "I see! So that's why you sold your troops out to me. So many dead, and they all died trusting you! Weren't they your comrades?"

Olga's composure snapped in half; "Not just comrades! Family!"

"Hah!"

"I know I'm going to hell," Olga declared, "But at least my child-"

"I applaud your attitude. If you have a death wish, I'll be happy to accommodate you." The atmosphere sheared violently with an explosion. Solidus propelled himself in front of Olga with the accelerator.

"See you in hell!" he declared. One of the tentacles snapped out and grabbed Olga by the throat, squeezing down as hard as it could. Raiden immediately whipped out the SOCOM and opened fire, but the bullets just bounced off of his armor. Olga turned the barrel of her own gun toward Solidus, but the pressure on her throat was too great. She dropped her weapon and fought desperately for breath. Solidus lifted her off the ground and dangled her in the air like she was simply a rag doll; he twirled his P90 around in his hand as if he was _bored_. Raiden just slowly shook his head- no, no no no no _no_.

Olga's eyes met Raiden's, and she choked out, "Live… you have to…" Solidus ceased spinning his gun and pulled the trigger. The shot hit Olga point-blank in the forehead, blood and brain tissue flying out of the gaping exit wound. Her eyes widened in an expression of permanent shock, and she went limp.

"_OLGA!_" Raiden cried. The tentacle flung the woman's body across the room, and she landed with a deft, sickening _thud_. Raiden fell to his knees; he couldn't find words, couldn't find any strength… Right then, a tentacle grabbed _him _by the throat and clamped down.

"Enjoy the show, Jack?" Solidus asked with an infuriating smirk. "Let's pick up where we left off." He signaled toward the ceiling, and someone else controlling the RAY went into action. The Metal Gear began to move toward them, however, something was off. The RAY was wavering, as if it was having trouble keeping its balance. Its wings flapped erratically, and some of its exposed mechanisms began to spark. Solidus furrowed his brow as he watched the RAY shake its birdlike head like a broken toy.

"What's wrong with it?" Solidus called.

Raiden heard Ocelot's voice respond from the darkness; "The AI… GW… it's out of control!"

"What?" The RAY broke out into a frenzy of uncontrollable- and, really, indescribable- movements.

Ocelot continued, "I'm reading an abnormal impulse cascade throughout the neural network. I can't shut it down!"

"What happened?"

"Maybe- some kind of virus-"

"The _Patriots?_"

"I don't know!" Raiden would've smiled if he could. Emma's worm cluster, it _had _worked after all!

"Ocelot! What have you been up to?"

"It's too late!" Sirens began to wail throughout the room. "Arsenal's system control is going haywire! It's on an emergency ascent course!" The entire foundation rocked back and forth, Raiden could feel it. The gigantic craft was rising out of the sea. The RAY creaked and roared, and out of nowhere it began attacking. It lashed out at whatever was in its way, no matter if it was just a wall or even the two humans in front of it.

"Stupid machines!" Solidus shouted. With Raiden still 'in hand', he snapped shut his steel collar and turned on the muscle suit. He easily evaded the RAY's lashing tail and all its other various assaults. He expertly aimed the P90 and shot out the mech's AI control center with a few carefully placed shots. The RAY immediately stopped and stood still, trembling slightly with fault neural networks.

"Damn the Patriots!" Solidus growled. He then looked to Raiden.

"You still have some use," he said, and dropped Raiden onto the floor. The operative got up at least to his knees, but any confidence he had was gone. His will to fight was practically nonexistent.

A new voice rang out; "I've captured Snake!" The two men looked up- Fortune had arrived with Snake walking beside her, his hands bound behind him.

"Snake?" Raiden whispered. If Snake had managed to get kidnapped… Oh _no_.

"Bring him in," Solidus ordered. Fortune pushed Snake forward, and as she did Solidus turned to Raiden, still helpless on the floor. One of his tentacles slithered to his neck- some kind of hypodermic needle was attached to it- and jabbed him in the neck. Raiden couldn't fight it as his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he blacked out…

**1. Okay, on the whole 'Rose isn't actually a spy thing', here's my thinking that lead up to this: That reveal came at a very odd time, seeing as how the AI was glitching out and almost intentionally trying to psyche out Raiden. Also, it isn't mentioned at all in Metal Gear Solid 4. You'd think that's something Raiden would want to share with Snake, at least. And it's not mentioned there whether or not she's still working for the Patriots, I suppose we're just supposed to assume not. So, I assume that in the canon she really wasn't, and in the ending she was just threatened by the Patriots into acting like everything was alright OR Raiden was mostly hallucinating the ending, imagining her reacting how she did. That's my reasoning, and if it's so repellant to you that you can't read this fic any more, then that's cool.**

**2: I'm sorry that this chapter sucks. Don't worry, I dislike it too.**


	12. Chapter 11: Looking in the Dark

_LAST TIME, Liquid had an off-screen fight with the Bizarro RAY, Regina found Rose- who ISN'T a spy, the two of them beat people up before goin' on the run, Raiden ran around in Arsenal and generally didn't do much different from what actually happened in the game, fought Bizarro RAY, watched Olga die, then got knocked the fuck out. Okay folks, you ready? This arc is three-fourths of the big finish for the Metal Gear Solid 2 arc of this story! After the next chapter, we'll officially be in uncharted territory, with no novelizations to guide us~! Are you excited? I'm excited :D SO, let's get the formalities out of the way: I don't own anything, except for this story, all changes in canon character design brought about by the story, all OCs, the laptop I'm writing this on, the bed I'm sitting on as I'm writing this, and the Nintendo DS I'm trying not to play. Alright, let's roll._

_**-Looking in the Dark-**_

"Are you awake, Jack?"

Raiden could hear Solidus's voice, but it sounded so very far away, almost like it was from a dream. His vision faded in and out as he regained consciousness, flickering between pitch black and stormy grey. He'd been out cold, but… for how long? He could feel a harsh, chilling breeze, and the surface he was lying on felt wet. Was it raining? Raiden really couldn't tell at this point. His vision began to get clearer- he could see Solidus standing before him. Raiden attempted to get up, propping himself up on his elbows and shaking his head. The sedative had been damn strong, that much he could figure out, but it was beginning to wear off. Even so, he still felt hazy. The young operative looked around, taking stock of his surroundings; he'd been taken from the big room, obviously, but now he was… outside? No, not just outside, he was _on top of Arsenal Gear_. Raiden blinked a few times just to make sure he wasn't imagining it.

Solidus was standing in front of him, and the the side was the incomplete RAY. It looked a little worse for wear- which was to be expected, seeing as he shot it with a missile. Revolver Ocelot was standing by the incomplete RAY's foot, and just a few feet over he saw Fortune standing next to Snake, the operative in question lying face down with his hands cuffed behind him. He'd probably been drugged, just like Raiden. The young soldier looked up- the sky was dark with storm clouds, and rain was pelting down on his face. He could see the city lights not too far off in the distance. It was dark, dark enough to be midnight or very early in the morning. He wasn't in the best state to judge something like that.

Solidus spoke up right then. "GW, the Arsenal AI, is corrupted beyond repair. I admit that I underestimated you…" One of the ex-president's tentacles snapped out and grabbed Raiden by the throat, lifting him up once again. "I'll squeeze the answers out of you instead, my son." Raiden gasped for breath and struggled fiercely against the tentacle, but Solidus wasn't about to let him go any time soon.

"What do you hope to hear?" Fortune asked, disdain clear as day in her voice. "You know he doesn't know anything."

"It's not _him _I want answers from," Solidus replied, continuing to choke the operative for a few seconds longer before unceremoniously dropping him. Raiden hit Arsenal's hull with a dull 'thud', and he breathed as deeply as he could to get back all that lost oxygen, coughing and wheezing in torment.

"What do you mean?" Fortune pried further.

"That's not your business," Solidus snapped, glaring over his shoulder at the woman.

She scoffed; "Oh really? It so happens I have some business of my own to attend to."

She turned to leave, but Solidus stopped her dead in her tracks by remarking, "Planning to hijack Arsenal? You were going to screw me over, weren't you?"

Fortune whirled back around to face Solidus; "Who talked? Ocelot?"

"Not exactly. I was the one who used Ocelot to suggest the idea to you in the first place."

"What?"

"I was planning to give you Arsenal to begin with."

Fortune scowled at her former ally; "Why the uncharacteristic generosity?"

"I'm no philanthropist. Arsenal is far from impregnable. It needs other Metal Gears as guards, a huge payload of warheads, and full air, sea, and land support to function efficiently. Against a large attack force without support, Arsenal is nothing more than a gigantic coffin. Seizing Arsenal Gear was never the real objective."

Fortune clenched her hands into fists, trying to contain her anger and not really succeeding; "What _was _your objective, then?"

"A list of names- of the Patriots!"

"Huh?"

"They were planning to extend their control to digital information flow with GW and Arsenal. That means the information they want to filter out is contained within GW. Including the list of the highest twelve members of the Patriots' Wisemen's Committee."

"And once you knew who they were, you'd cross out their names one by one? While _we _with their useless Arsenal drew their fire?"

"Very good!"

Fortune gritted her teeth and growled; "You were using us all along."

Solidus scoffed; "Were _you_ any different?"

"But your plan's hit a snag with GW destroyed, hasn't it?"

"No… there is another way."

"Really… but we have our own plans to carry out. We'll take the Arsenal since you don't care for it anyway. The purified hydrogen bomb is ready to go."

"A nuclear strike won't stop them."

"It will damage their power source- the mindless masses that they control. First thing's first."

"Of course. That was what you wanted I won't stop you. Good luck."

"Thanks," Fortune said sarcastically, "But I have _quite _enough of that." Right then, Ocelot let out a laugh- no, not a laugh. More like a cackle…

"What exactly do you find so funny?" she asked the Russian gunslinger, hatred dripping off of the question.

Ocelot smirked and replied, "Charades usually are humorous. I wouldn't have minded watching some more of it, but we're running a little short on time."

Solidus turned to him this time, angrily asking, "What are you talking about?"

Ocelot shrugged, smirk ever present; "Everything you've done here has been scripted. A little exercise set up by us."

"_Exercise?_"

"The S3 plan was conceived as a means to produce soldiers on par with Solid Snake. That's what I told you. But the VR training the boy was put through is not the meat of the project. You think this little terrorist incident is your own doing, Solidus? _This _is the S3 training kernel- an orchestrated re-creation of Shadow Moses."

"_What?_"

"Ames' and the President's deaths, the ninja, the computer virus that mimics FOXDIE… did you really think they were all a coincidence? Ames' own nanomachines were used to shut down his pacemaker. I arranged to the appearance of the ninja as well. As for the President- although Johnson realized what was going on, he played out his allotted part. As for the computer virus, it's a digital counterpart of FOXDIE. It was also designed to eliminate every scrap of information regarding the Patriots from GW. Your plan was invalidated even before execution, Solidus.

"Fatman was a different story. He's one of our people, a sort of examiner we hired to test the boy's progress before letting him tackle the exercise proper. We had to arrange for Stillman's presence to coax the maniac into agreeing. If the boy had allowed the Big Shell to be destroyed, the exercise would've ended there. The project has no room for failures."

Solidus was seething by this point, looking about ready to start killing damn near everyone; "What do you mean?"

"Given the right situation, the right story, anyone can be shaped into Snake. Even rookies can fight like men of experience. An instant creation of genius- and this training kernel will provide more than enough data to formulate such a program. You, Dead Cell, Olga… you're all nothing but pawns placed to create the perfect simulation. Solidus, you and the boy were selected because your relationship resembles the one between Snake and Big Boss."

Ocelot then turned to Fortune; "Fortune, you and the rest of Dead Cell stand in for the FOXHOUND squad that Snake took on in Shadow Moses. You're the most impressive collection of freaks outside of FOXHOUND. We've gone to a lot of trouble to set you up against the boy. That story about purified hydrogen bombs is just the tip of the iceberg. The project was already underway when I sank that tanker along with your old man two years ago. Throwing your husband, Colonel Jackson, in the brig was part of it, too. You were told that the eradication of Dead Cell six months ago was an act of the Patriots. We provoked and encouraged your hatred- and you opted for vengeance, just as we planned."

"All _orchestrated_…?" Fortune whispered. She looked to be in shock… Raiden couldn't blame her.

Ocelot glanced over at Snake; "Except for the appearance of the real Solid Snake and that troublesome brother of his. Now I wonder who sent for them…?"

Fortune's lips trembled as she growled, "All our misfortune was… just a part of their project?" Her expression hardened and she swung her rail gun toward Ocelot; the gunslinger was faster, smoothly firing his revolver and hitting her in the chest dead center, the gunshot sounding over the roar of the rain. Fortune gasped and looked down at the blood seeping out from the hole between her breasts.

"H-how… could…?"

Ocelot's smirk turned into a full-on grin; "You're no Lady Luck. You have nothing that we didn't give you."

"Wha-what?" Fortune's legs buckled, and she clutched her bleeding chest as she sank to one knee.

"Do you know why no bullet could hit you? It wasn't magic or some New Age mumbo jumbo. Certainly wasn't your psychic talents. It was all staged by the Patriots."

Her breathing began to hitch and shudder; "St-taged?"

"You were being shielded by the electromagnetic weapons technology that the Patriots developed. Your Dead Cell comrades loved your father and husband- we needed a pathetic wretch like you to keep them focused. You've been our puppet all along, just like Olga."

"No!"

"You were hamming it up as the tragic heroine thanks to the script the Patriots wrote for you. Pure self-indulgence- absorbed in your own 'misfortune', you couldn't get enough of the drama."

She was still in shock; "I… could have died… whenever I wanted to…" She stood up, her resolve renewed by quite a bit of righteous fury.

Ocelot narrowed his eyes in scrutiny; "Hm? Thought I got her in the heart…" Fortune fired her rail gun at Ocelot, but the bullets deflected, just as they used to do for her.

Something came to Ocelot, and he nodded at the realization; "Now I remember. Your heart's on the right." She fired again, but none of the shots hit their target, instead flying off in different directions. "Waste of metal, my dear. Your luck's run out." He smirked and pointed to a device attached to his belt. "This is the little gizmo. There's no such thing as miracles or the supernatural- only cutting edge technology." Solidus growled deep in his throat and fired the P90 at Ocelot in a fit of rage- once again, the bullets deflected.

"You b-bastard," Fortune whispered. She coughed up a bit of blood and fell, gasping desperately like a fish out of water. Ocelot promptly ignored her and swiftly climbed up into the incomplete RAY's cockpit. Solidus kept firing at him, and the bullets just kept missing.

"Now that I have enough data," Ocelot announced from the cockpit, "all I have to do is retrieve Arsenal and clean up the refuse from the exercise-" Ocelot was cut off by an anti-tank missile punching straight through the incomplete RAY's torso with a small explosion. The incomplete RAY immediately began to fall, but before it could hit the ground the real Metal Gear RAY erupted out of the ocean and landed on top of Arsenal, grabbing the incomplete RAY's 'head' in its beak. The cockpit opened to reveal Liquid Snake, smirking like the smug bastard he was at Ocelot. Ocelot's face had gone from one of perfect composure to one of almost frightening rage at the sight of the blonde 'snake'.

"This is a fairly familiar situation, Ocelot," Liquid remarked, "So, do you know what I'm going to do now~?"

"Throw me into the ocean?" Ocelot replied through gritted teeth.

"You betcha~!" Liquid chirped.

"I hate you _so fucking much_," Ocelot growled. Liquid just chuckled and closed the cockpit. RAY shook its incomplete counterpart around in its mouth before tossing it off the side of the warship. The incomplete RAY landed several meters away before sinking into the ocean. RAY then stood up to its full height, Liquid opening the cockpit again to grin down at everyone. Snake shook himself awake just then, and his eyes nearly doubled in size at what he was seeing. Raiden found himself trying as hard as he could not to smile.

"Brothers!" Liquid called down, grinning like a maniac.

"Liquid…" Snake muttered, eyes still wide.

"You've crawled out of your hole again, Liquid?" Solidus growled.

"Indeed I have," Liquid replied, leaning back in the cockpit, "But don't worry, I won't be staying for long. You see, I need to destroy this thing to get to GW, and I don't think I want to stick around to be destroyed along with it."

"GW? What do you want with GW?" Solidus shouted, shaking his fist up at Liquid.

Liquid wagged his finger at Solidus; "Now now little brother, that' a story for another time." With that, he flipped a switch inside of RAY. "I've started Arsenal's navigation program! The course will take you straight into Manhattan!"

Raiden finally stood up and shouted, "You're planning to crash this thing into New York City?"

"It'll be a full scale disaster!" Snake shouted as well.

"Disaster?" Liquid echoed, his grin growing even wider. "That has a nice ring to it." Arsenal lurched and shifted direction under everyone's feet, and the three men were forced to grab on to Arsenal's hull just to avoid being forced off.

"Raiden! I have a bit of advice," Liquid called down to the young operative. "You've got some time before you hit New York. I'd use that time wisely and settle the personal score you have with my younger brother, hm?" With that, Liquid closed the cockpit and RAY leapt back into the ocean, disappearing beneath the waves. Snake attempted to get to his feet and go after it, but he was knocked back down, forcing him to grab hold of Arsenal again. Raiden and Solidus turned to each other, their eyes meeting. Raiden gritted his teeth and got to his feet, as did Solidus. Liquid was right, now would be the only time to kill this bastard with his own hands. The man had ruined his life, it was about time Raiden returned the favor.

Raiden drew his katana, while Solidus brandished a wakizashi in his left hand and a katana in his right. Solidus was about to speak, but Raiden took that moment to strike. He was _sick _of hearing this man's voice. Solidus countered Raiden's blade and immediately swung the katana in a counterclockwise motion to get at Raiden's unprotected side. Raiden nimbly dodged the blow before charging at Solidus with his own blade outstretched; he was fast enough to catch Solidus off guard, and the young soldier slashed Solidus's left arm, slicing down through the armor and severing quite a few arteries. Solidus grunted in pain but slashed for Raiden's right shoulder. Raiden blocked the blade with his own, sparks flying out into the rain from the impact. They fought in these close quarters for several seconds, their swords ringing out like crashes of thunder every time they collided.

Raiden managed to roll out from the melee, got back to his feet, and attempted to strike along the armor's spinal cord. Solidus, however, moved defensively and blocked the attack. The melee began anew, their blades hurtling into each other with a fury and fervor Raiden had never experienced before. Solidus lunged at Raiden's chest as the operative parried to the side- the blade sliced at Raiden's ribs, but it wasn't enough to do serious damage. Raiden saw an opening right then and swung the sword down on Solidus's arm, nearly cutting it off at the elbow. Solidus cried out in pain and dropped the katana, but he still had the wakizashi. Solidus brandished his other sword and charged, and Raiden stepped back just a bit before stabbing Solidus just below the rib cage once he was in range.

Solidus let out yet another cry of pain, but he quickly countered with a parry that knocked Raiden off balance. He nearly went hurtling off the warship, but he caught his balance just in time. He took that moment to look over his shoulder- the dark shape of Manhattan was far too close, he barely had any time! He had to finish this and _quick_. Raiden cartwheeled back to where he had been, and once he landed on his feet he caught sight of Solidus rushing him already. Raiden bit his lower lip- now! He swiftly sidestepped out the way, getting behind Solidus and stabbing right in the suit of armor's spine. Solidus's back erupted in a fountain of blood, and he wavered on his feet. He was unable to keep his poise; the ex-president fell to his knees before rolling off the side of Arsenal and into the ocean. Raiden couldn't take a moment to catch his breath, for Manhattan was just close enough. They were about to crash. Raiden hit the deck right beside Snake, closed his eyes, and braced himself.

The behemoth of a warship known as Arsenal Gear sped underneath the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge and crashed right into the Statue of Liberty as it roared past Liberty Island. The statue's remains fell onto Ellis Island as Arsenal kept on going at breakneck speed. It plowed into Battery Park, the monstrous warship bouncing and crashing over landmarks, buildings, vehicles, and people. The obstacles slowed Arsenal down, but not by much. The craft skidded through Wall Street and over the New York Stock Exchange building, tearing up everything in its path. Eventually, the leviathan warship came to a stop in front of Federal Hall. Snake and Raiden were thrown off of the mobile fortress and onto the roof of the monument, rolling until they collided… with the legs of Metal Gear RAY.

"Raiden, you never cease to excel past my expectations," Liquid remarked from the cockpit as both of the warriors shook themselves back to awareness. "You truly are something."

Snake glared up at his brother; "Why'd you come back, Liquid?"

Liquid grinned down at his twin; "I thought it'd be obvious. I'm here to finish what was started in Shadow Moses, brother! After all, there can only be one Snake and one Big Boss, so unless you plan on taking our father's title…"

Snake gritted his teeth before he snapped, "I'd say you're more fitting for that, Liquid." Liquid's eye widened at that remark before he glared back down at Snake.

"Don't you _ever DARE _insinuate that I am _anything _like our father," Liquid growled. Right then, the Codec chirped in Raiden's ear. He read the frequency and immediately scowled. It was the Colonel- no, it was GW.

_"Raiden, are you receiving? We're still here,"_ the electronically garbled voice of the 'Colonel' said.

Raiden gritted his teeth before replying, _"Yes, I'm receiving. And you know what? I don't give a fuck about anything you're going to say! I don't care if it's mission directives, existential nonsense, or crap about famous purple stuffed worms in flap-jaw space doing raw blinks on hara-kiri rock! I seriously just don't care! You wanted me to be doubting what is and isn't real, so congrats, you've done just that. So would you kindly just shut the hell up? My friend is on the cusp of fighting Metal Gear RAY, and like hell am I going to let him do it alone! And now, I've got a little 'mission directive' for you: _GO FUCK YOURSELF_." _With that, Raiden angrily ended the call and ran to stand beside Snake in a sign of solidarity. Liquid and Snake both raised an eyebrow at this sudden development.

Raiden turned to Snake and said, "I'm not letting you fight him alone, Snake. We're in this together." Snake blinked a few times in surprise before genuinely smiling at him for the very first time.

"Yeah, we are," Snake agreed before turning back up to Liquid. Raiden's eyes widened a bit at what he saw when he _did _look back up at Liquid; for a split second, he looked… _sad_. Raiden couldn't think of any other word to describe it, just 'sad'.

Liquid sighed and regained his composure, smirking as he remarked, "I had a feeling you'd side with him. That's why I brought two of these along." Raiden's eyes widened again in shock as Liquid tossed down two Stinger missile launchers to them; the launcher nearly knocked Raiden over as he caught it, but his footing was far steadier than he'd thought it'd be.

"… So you're just _giving _us the weapons we'd need to take you down," Snake remarked, raising an eyebrow.

"I am nothing if not a gentleman. I prefer to fight at least _somewhat _fairly," Liquid remarked with a shrug. Snake rolled his eyes, but immediately hefted the launcher onto his shoulder and fired. RAY immediately leapt out of the way and into the street, possibly squishing some of the many passers-by who'd showed up to gawk at the crash. RAY immediately turned back toward the warriors and let loose a burst of machine gun fire. Snake leapt out of the way sideways, while Raiden took the initiative and leapt off of Federal Hall. Immediately he aimed for RAY again, but right as he locked on to the hulking beast it began to run down the street, crushing several cars and sending people running in all directions. Snake leapt off the roof right then, landing next to Raiden. The two shared a look before Raiden began running down the left side of the street and Snake ran down the right. RAY fired an anti-tank missile straight at Raiden- Raiden ducked behind a car at just the right moment, and the missile sent the car flying into the one parked just in front of it.

Raiden set the sight of the launcher right on his eye, attempting to both aim and run at the same time. He had to soon abandon this practice when an anti-_ship_ missile was fired right at his face. Raiden ducked and rolled right underneath the missile- it collided with the ground, the force of the impact and subsequent shockwave nearly knocking Raiden flat on his face. Raiden kept running after the gigantic mecha, ducking behind cars as it shot at him rapid fire from the machine gun pods. He leapt out from behind his latest cover and was about to try to run and aim again, but before he could a stinger missile hit the beast right in the torso, knocking it off balance and eliciting a cry of shock from Liquid over the PA. He looked to Snake- the older operative was on top of a car with the launcher over his shoulder, and looked just about ready to run.

"Nice shot!" Raiden shouted as RAY attempted to recover from the blow.

"Don't go complimenting me yet," Snake called back as RAY regained its balance.

Liquid gritted his teeth in anger before shouting over RAY's PA, "Take this!" RAY immediately wrapped its tail around one of the cars and flung it straight at Snake. Snake's eyes widened and he leapt off of his perch- the car kept flying and smashed straight into a building. Snake got back up and ran for RAY again, shouldering the Stinger and looking for the perfect opening. RAY spotted him again in seconds, quickly firing off two anti-tank missiles at him. Snake just barely dodged them and cringed as they hit some bystanders- where the hell did Liquid keep _getting _all these missiles? He couldn't ponder that question any further, for he had to duck underneath yet another 'flying' car.

Meanwhile, Regina and Rosemary were running down the sidewalk in a completely different part of the city. The Patriot grunts had caught up to them and were chasing them relentlessly, and the two of them couldn't afford to fight them head on in a street full of crowded people. Regina ducked into an alleyway, Rose just on her tail, but the grunts spied Rose just as she disappeared into the alley. They followed after with the tenacity of dogs on the hunt, and Regina cursed under her breath, grabbing Roses's arm and pulling her along to speed things up.

"They're gaining on us," Rose called out, stumbling over her own feet and breathing heavily.

"I know!" Regina snapped, gritting her teeth and looking over her shoulder at their pursuers. They broke through the mouth of the alleyway, but Regina dragged Rose around right into another alley on the other side of the building.

"We're just going around in circles!" Rose shouted, eyes wide in panic.

"No, we're not! We're going up," Regina replied, immediately climbing up the building's fire escape with Rose in tow. They were able to make it up several landings before the grunts realized they were up there. Regina cursed- they'd probably go through the building proper to get to them, or just follow them up the fire escapes. She couldn't start leaping from roof to roof with Rose in tow, unless she decided to carry her on her back- god _damn _it! She knew this was a bad idea from the very start! The two of them reached the roof first, but they stopped dead in their tracks when they saw a helicopter hovering just a foot off of the roof. And Regina's large eyes widened when she saw who was piloting it.

"Get in! They're almost here," Naomi shouted from the cockpit.

"Who is she?" Rose asked.

Regina grinned and replied, "A friend. Come on! We're goin' in!" Regina ran at full speed with Rose desperately clinging to her arm and leapt into the open helicopter door. She landed well enough, but Rose went tumbling end over end and almost lost her vase.

"Regina, take the wheel!" Naomi called, abandoning the cockpit and moving back into the helicopter. Regina nodded and took Naomi's place, lifting off immediately. Rose went tumbling around in the helicopter, only stopping when Regina leveled off and began to fly in large circles over Manhattan. Naomi immediately retrieved her laptop and began typing furiously on it. Rose looked over her shoulder- she could tell that Naomi was hacking into something, but what exactly she was hacking was a mystery to her.

"Where'd you park the _Suzaku_, Naomi? And on that note, why are you out here?" Regina asked over her shoulder.

"I sweet-talked one of your contacts into holding onto it for us," Naomi replied. "It'll be fine for now. As to why I'm out here, Liquid is currently rampaging through the streets in Metal Gear RAY like Godzilla, Raiden- or maybe I should call him _Jack_, and Solid Snake are trying to take him down via the liberal use of missiles, and I'm currently trying to hack into all the traffic lights along RAY's path to make sure Liquid doesn't end up killing damn near everyone. Any questions?"

"Wait- _Jack?_" Rose echoed, eyes widening. "He's fighting a Metal Gear- what?"

"See for yourself," Naomi said, pulling up a feed from a traffic camera. At first, it just showed abandoned cars people panicking, but soon RAY backpedaled into view, firing a pair of missiles at unknown assailants and instead hitting more nearby cars. Right then, Solid Snake came running into frame, firing on the beast with an assault rifle, presumably drawing its fire. When RAY was firmly focused on Snake, Raiden came running into view, getting up on one of the cars, taking aim with a missile launcher, and firing- the missile hit RAY in the leg, sending it crashing down onto a car. Snake shouted something to Raiden, who nodded and pulled out a few grenades as RAY got back to its feet and started throwing even more cars their way. Rose stared agape at the footage, and continued to stare even as Naomi closed off the feed and went back to hacking the traffic lights.

"… What? Why is Jack fighting that thing? His mission was supposed to be just infiltration- what the hell is going on?" Rose exclaimed, clutching her vase to her chest and looking to Regina and Naomi in a panic.

Regina sighed before she replied, "Well. It _was _just infiltration. _But _his mission is really just a setup by a conspiracy that really runs our country. Snake and my boss helped him find out, he went in to destroy their big warship they were building, and they ended up in this battle because my boss and Snake have a rivalry and Jack wasn't about to let Snake fight him alone."

"… Okay, I am officially confused," Rose sighed.

"We'll tell you the details when things are a lot less hectic," Naomi muttered.

Meanwhile, Raiden ducked and rolled around an anti-ship missile before throwing a flash grenade. It exploded right in front of the cockpit, nearly blinding Liquid. RAY immediately retaliated with a burst of machine gun fire, but it missed by a mile, hitting a building and sending a shower of broken glass falling on Raiden's head. The young operative weaved out of the way of the glass and pulled out another grenade. He pulled the pin with his teeth and tossed it just in time to avoid a flying car. The car smashed into some bystanders, and Raiden cringed- hadn't Snake lined up his shot yet? He couldn't draw Liquid's fire that much longer! Raiden dodged around another anti-tank missile and looked over to Snake; he grinned, Snake had RAY in his sights and-

RAY caught sight of Snake, grabbed another car in its tail and flung it straight at Snake. Snake didn't have any time to move- the car smashed straight into him, sending him flying into the side of a building. Raiden's eyes widened, and immediately he hefted the Stinger onto his shoulder, running and aiming at the same time. RAY was lining up its machine guns right at Snake, preparing to deliver the _coup de grace_. Raiden leapt up on top of a car and aimed for RAY- he didn't even check to see if the targeting system had a lock on it, he just fired. It hit RAY in the torso, sending it flying back into that same building. Raiden gritted his teeth and fired again right as RAY hit the building, hitting the beast's head this time. He could see a small explosion and hear the beast crying out in pain. He could also hear Liquid crying out in pain over its PA. Raiden fired his last missile, but not at RAY. No, he fired it at the building RAY had crashed into, right as RAY fired one last anti-tank missile at Raiden.

Raiden ducked out of the way of the missile, and it hit the building right behind him. The Stinger hit the opposite building. Both buildings rocked at the impact, swaying on their foundations until they couldn't hold themselves together and collapsed right into the street.

**I… I am so so sorry that this chapter ended up sucking as horribly as it did. I'm really really sorry.**


	13. Chapter 12: The Sun Rises

_LAST TIME, I copied down dialogue, Liquid threw Ocelot into the ocean again, Solidus and Raiden had a climactic fight in the seasonally-inappropriate rain, Snake and Raiden crashed into Federal Hall on Arsenal Gear, Raiden told off GW while Snake told off Liquid, Raiden took sides against Liquid, this made Liquid go "D:", there was a not-so-climactic fight against RAY through the streets of New York, Naomi picked up Regina and Rose in an unexplained helicopter, Rose was severely confused, Raiden resorted to massive property damage to take down Liquid, Liquid took a similar approach, and we ended with two buildings falling down and Liquid basically losing the fight. AND NOW, FINALLY, WE'RE FINISHING THE MGS2-PORTION OF THE STORY IN A NOT-SO-EPIC FASHION. After this, we'll be in unscripted territory for quite a while, with OCs jumping in left and right and a whole other story on the side for wacky hijinx and such. If you hate OCs or hate how I write OCs, then I'd suggest taking off after this chapter. SO, DISCLAIMER TIME: I don't own anything, except for this story, all changes in canon character design brought about by the story, all OCs, the laptop I'm writing this on, the bed I'm sitting on as I'm writing this, and the Nintendo DS I'm trying not to play. Also, I don't own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, which is currently distracting the hell out of me. Without any further ado, let us roll._

_**-The Sun Rises-**_

Civilians stood in mute horror as the buildings came crumbling down, stone and other such debris flying everywhere. The sound of the impact was loud enough to deafen, and nobody watching was quite sure _what _to do except run the hell away, leaving the scene remarkably empty… When the dust cleared, all one could see was rubble covering a large portion of the street. If one went looking, one would find the corpses of many innocents underneath the remains of the buildings. Nobody had survived the final blow of the battle except for the three that probably least deserved it. Snake was unconscious and lying on the one patch of open ground, blood running from his temple and his bandanna loose from the impact. Right across the street, Raiden was just regaining consciousness himself, attempting to shrug off the large piece of rubble on his (possibly broken) left arm that had him pinned to the ground.

And, finally, Liquid was just freeing himself from the cockpit of Metal Gear RAY, barely a scratch on him.

The blonde englishman let out a deep exhale as he finally freed himself from he machine, but right as he regained his balance he turned to it again. His jaw nearly hit the floor- RAY was in pieces. Its 'wings' had been tossed halfway across the street, its left leg was over near Raiden, and Liquid couldn't even find its right leg. Immediately Liquid ran back to the Metal Gear and knelt beside it, gently stroking its hull like it was an injured animal.

"Oh, my _poor RAY,_" Liquid whispered, shaking his head slowly. "Putting you back together and making you battle-ready again will take _months_… My poor machine…" Liquid was promptly distracted from this 'tragedy' by a bit of mid-sleep mumbling from Snake. He immediately stood and made his way over to the operative, inspecting him with his one green eye as he loomed over Snake. Experimentally, Liquid nudged him with his foot. Snake barely reacted, simply twitching and mumbling a bit more. Liquid's face split into a wide, wicked grin, and the englishman immediately went for his sidearm, pointing it straight at Snake with a steady, decisive hand.

"Sleeping late as usual, eh Snake?" Liquid hissed, narrowing his eye as his grin widened. Oh, this was _too _good. In seconds he would kill Snake and one of his goals would be finally accomplished~!

"Brother…" Liquid paused for a brief moment at that latest mumbling; huh, apparently Snake _did _think of him as his brother, at least subconsciously. Oh well, that didn't change the fact that he'd be dead in a few seconds. … Right? Liquid's grin disappeared, exchanged for a puzzled expression. It had been a few seconds, why wasn't Snake dead? Why was he hesitating? Liquid attempted to pull the trigger, but it just. Wouldn't. _Budge_. Liquid scowled as he looked to his hand- what the- was it _shaking? _No, he _shouldn't _be hesitating, he shouldn't be freezing up just because Snake called him 'brother'! He should be painting the town _red _with Snake's blood! He shouldn't be breathing faster than ever before and trembling all over just at the thought of killing this man!

"Damn it…" Liquid muttered, attempting to pull the trigger and growing more and more hysterical as he failed to do it, "Damn it, why, why why _why can't I do this?_"

With as much warning as an earthquake, the gun was knocked from his hand by a battered, half-destroyed katana blade. Liquid's eye traveled up the blade to its owner, and he immediately put on an untroubled smirk. Holding the severely damaged blade in his still-intact right hand was none other than Raiden, looking angry and determined as all hell.

Raiden cracked a small, confident smirk and asked, "What's the matter, can't shoot your own brother~?"

Liquid rolled his eye and replied, "Nonsense. As I said earlier, I am nothing if not a gentleman. It'd be simply _unsportsmanlike_ of me to shoot the man while he was down; I was simply going to wake him up with the _pleasant _sound of a gunshot right next to his face."

"Then why were you hysterically wondering about why you couldn't pull the trigger?" Raiden wondered, his smirk widening just a bit.

Liquid simply narrowed his eye and remarked, "_You're _sounding rather confident."

"It's sort of what happens when you start questioning whether or not you're actually living in reality," Raiden replied with a small, sarcastic shrug.

Liquid quirked an eyebrow before asking, "Let me _guess_, because Snake is the only certain thing in your life at this moment, you're willing to fight me to the death to keep him safe even with a broken arm?"

"That's about right," Raiden answered with a nod. Liquid simply rolled his eye and got into a quite casual-looking fighting stance.

"Fine, I'll humor you. However, you'll have to humor _me_ in turn and not use _that _in this fight," Liquid said, indicating the nearly destroyed sword. Raiden tossed the katana over his shoulder and immediately rushed at Liquid, just barely hitting him with a right hook to the jaw. Liquid sidestepped out of the way and behind Raiden, elbowing him in the back of the neck before the young operative could turn around. However, Raiden _did _turn around after shrugging the blow off in mere seconds, kicking Liquid in the stomach and sending the englishman skidding back about a foot.

Liquid frowned and sidestepped Raiden as he charged at him again, once again ending up behind the young man. Liquid grabbed Raiden's right arm and pinned it behind his back, restraining him effortlessly. Raiden struggled against him with all of his strength, but Liquid swiftly put a stop to that by breaking Raiden's other arm. The young operative let out a cry of pain, and Liquid simply dropped him to the ground. Raiden immediately tried to charge again, but Liquid stopped him in his tracks with a punch to the face. Raiden simply fell over onto his back, conscious, in quite a bit of pain and exhausted as all hell.

"There, you were humored," Liquid said, finally cracking a genuine smile. "Now, time to deal with these arms of yours…" The englishman knelt down next to Raiden and took a hold of his arm, proceeding to set the bones as best he could while Raiden continually winced and made little 'pain-reaction-noises' (as Liquid's brain was eloquently classifying them).

"So, what's this I'm hearing from you about doubting the reality of your surroundings?" Liquid asked, oddly casual given the situation.

Raiden winced a bit, but replied nonetheless; "Well, I just recently learned I was manipulated throughout this entire mission and possibly hallucinating my commanding officer _and _girlfriend, who's a spy. I think _anyone _in that situation would start questioning what's real and what's not."

Liquid nodded and remarked, "It's a lot simpler than you were made to believe, Raiden."

"… Huh?"

Liquid tried very hard not to laugh; "Well, first off, you weren't hallucinating anything. GW was just impersonating the Colonel and Rose, not making you dream them up. I have no idea what the actual situation with Colonel is, but I do know that Rose isn't a spy. She's simply a normal woman who was manipulated just as much as you were, inadvertently _making_ her a spy."

"… I'm still confused."

"I know you are. And, really, right now isn't the best time for all of this to be explained to you," Liquid said, moving onto Raiden's other arm. "As you said, you were just manipulated within an inch of your life, and reality isn't something you have much of a grasp on right now. You're _also _trying to work through your issues concerning your… less than savory past." Raiden immediately flinched, and Liquid let out a heavy sigh. He finished setting the bones in Raiden's other arm and sat on the nearest piece of rubble, right next to Raiden's head.

"I have a bit of advice for you," Liquid remarked softly. "Concerning the whole 'unsavory past' thing. Don't push it away… accept that it happened, and that there are ways to move past it. And don't you _dare _keep people from helping you with it."

Raiden blinked a few times in confusion; "But-"

Liquid glared down at him; "Regardless of what _you _think, you're not going to get past it on your own. You're the one who's screwed up here, remember?"

"We're _all _screwed up here," Raiden mumbled, looking back up at the sky. Liquid couldn't help but chuckle this time.

"That's quite true," Liquid mused. "And you're a good man, Jack. I'd hate for you to end up as screwed up as my brother and I." The englishman glanced back over at Raiden and couldn't help but grin- Raiden had just enough energy to genuinely smile at that remark. Right then, Liquid's attention was called away by a perfectly black helicopter landing just a few meters down the street. He cocked his head to the side in confusion, but his eye widened when he noticed who was coming out of it.

"Look sharp, kid," Liquid remarked with a grin, "Your girl's here to see you."

Raiden attempted to sit up; "Rose?" Liquid just nodded as Rose became clear to both of them; he immediately had to raise an eyebrow at what the young analyst was _wearing_. Regina had provided her with a white, oversized, button-down shirt and what looked like men's jeans to wear, but no shoes. The dark-haired woman had rolled the sleeves up to her elbows and attempted to cuff the jeans a bit, but regardless of her efforts both pieces of clothing had ended up somewhat worse for wear. Her long dark hair was in a tizzy, she was holding onto a vase like it was her only companion, and overall she just looked like hell.

Right on her tail was Regina, looking slightly frazzled but no worse for wear, and right behind _her _was Naomi, walking at a brisk pace and not looking too phased by anything going on around her. If anything, she looked rather annoyed by this predicament. When Rose was close enough, she nearly tackled Raiden, but Liquid held up a hand to stop her.

"I _wouldn't _do that if I were you," Liquid remarked with a smile. "Both of his arms are broken, and I _just _finished setting the bones."

Rose blinked a few times in surprise before she asked, "Uhm… Who are you?"

Liquid just shook his head; "That's not important right now." Rose stared at him for a little bit longer before kneeling down in front of Raiden and throwing her arms around him. Regina immediately made an 'aawwwwww' sound that was silenced by a slap to the back of the head from one Naomi Hunter.

Raiden then spoke up in an uncharacteristically shaky voice; "… Rose?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you… are you real?" Liquid nearly face-palmed, and Rose just gave him a look like he was insane.

"… Why in the _world _are you asking me that?" Rose asked, tilting her head to the side.

Raiden smiled and replied, "Well, I knew that if you replied like _that_, it'd have to mean you were real."

Rose looked up at Liquid, and the englishman laughed nervously before remarking, "He's had a rough day." Rose blinked a few times before she shrugged just a bit and went back to hugging Raiden. Raiden just leaned his head into the crook of her neck, exhausted but feeling slightly happier about everything now.

"Looks like RAY did too," Naomi called from over near RAY's 'head'. "Regina, can you get RAY ready? We need to get it attached to the helicopter ASAP."

"Can do," Regina called back, dashing over to the dismembered RAY and immediately beginning an epic search for RAY's missing right leg. Naomi nodded before making her way over to Liquid. She glared pointedly at him, and all Liquid could do in response was scratch the back of his neck sheepishly.

"… Those two are going to need some help," Naomi remarked, looking over her shoulder at Rose and Raiden. "The Patriots aren't gonna take their 'rebellion' lying down, y'know."

Liquid blinked a few times before wondering, "Wait a minute, are you not mad at me?"

"Oh, of _course _I'm mad at you," Naomi replied, glaring at him once again, "I'm just not lecturing you right this minute."

Liquid took a second to pout, then said, "I don't think we'll need to get directly involved with helping those two. Jack probably wouldn't side with us for help anyways; no, more than likely he'll choose Snake to help him."

"You almost sound sad about that," Naomi remarked, quirking an eyebrow.

Liquid just shrugged before nodding in his brother's direction; "What should we do about Snake?"

Naomi put a hand to her chin; "Well, since you seem to be too much of a 'gentleman' to just shoot him while he's out, I suppose our only choice would be to tell Emmerich and his sister where to pick him up."

"Why do I have a feeling that you meant 'coward' when you said 'gentlemen'?" Liquid wondered, narrowing his eye in Naomi's direction.

"You'll only know for sure when I properly lecture you back on the Suzaku," Naomi replied, brushing off the subject. "… Okay, we can't _possibly _leave her to handle this on her own." Liquid quirked an eyebrow and followed Naomi's gaze to find Regina struggling to drag RAY's previously missing right leg back to the rest of the machine's body. In seconds they were helping her drag it back, providing Rose and Raiden with a very strange spectacle to watch.

"… They're odd," Rose remarked after watching the three-person Outer Heaven for a few seconds.

"Yes they are," Raiden replied simply. "Rose… What are you wearing?"

The dark-haired analyst let out a small chuckle; "Just noticing that now, huh? Well, it turns out all my clothes are bugged, so I had to wear this to keep from being stalked by a conspiracy that rules the US. … Regina wasn't entirely clear on details."

Raiden blinked a few times to get his thoughts together; "… _All _of your clothes?"

"All of them," Rose replied with a simple nod. "Anyways… We've got a _lot _to talk about, don't we?"

Raiden just nodded; "Yeah… Can we do that talking thing in the morning? I'm tired as hell right now…"

Rose sighed and smiled; "Sure." Right then, someone tapped her on the shoulder- she was _about _to make a break for it, but she relaxed when she saw it was just Liquid.

"… Yes?" Rose asked, attempting to be polite.

"Just wanted to let the two of you know that the girls and I are leaving," Liquid remarked casually. "Also, another helicopter should be arriving here at some point, piloted by two very nerdy individuals. You should get used to trusting them, because I have a feeling your boyfriend there is going to trust them to the ends of the earth and drag you along no matter what you say."

Rose quirked an eyebrow; "Wait a minute- did you actually finish dragging those parts of RAY to… wherever you were dragging them?"

Liquid smirked in response; "It's not nearly as difficult as Regina made it look."

Rose furrowed her eyebrows before standing up and asking, "Okay, but I have a question. One of these 'nerdy individuals' is this 'Emmerich' you mentioned, right? And, judging from what I've heard, he's Solid Snake's friend, right? Why are you letting Jack and I go with the ally of your enemy?"

Liquid sighed and shook his head; "Because, Rosemary, no matter what I say or do you'll always think he's the better man. So, I might as well leave you with the person you and the rest of the world are convinced is a hero."

"Oi, Liquid! Time to go!" Regina shouted from the helicopter as it hovered a few feet from the air. With that, Liquid left Rose to her thoughts. She blinked a few times as she watched the helicopter ascend into the smoke-filled sky before turning back to Raiden. She hadn't really focused on it when she'd first seen him, but he looked like hell… Rose sat back down next to Raiden; all she could do now was wait.

Several hours later, the _Suzaku _was underwater again, RAY was safely stowed away until repairs could be made, and- out on the bridge- Naomi was just finishing giving Liquid a lecture that would go down in official Outer Heaven history.

"… And that is why, after RAY is put back together, you are not allowed to touch it for at least a month," Naomi finished, crossing her arms over her chest with a curt nod. Liquid just stared at her, single eye wide in barely-contained terror. Slowly the englishman raised his hand.

"Yes?" Naomi asked, raising a perfectly shaped eyebrow.

"Now that you've utterly decimated my will to live, may I go cry in the corner?" Liquid asked in a small voice.

"You may not," Naomi replied. Liquid let out a very sad sigh.

"Now that you're done verbally castrating Liquid," Regina called from one of the computer terminals, "I think we should figure out what the hell we're going to do now? Staying out here isn't the best idea, given that the Patriots know we're still around and will probably guess that the _Suzaku _is out here within some amount of time."

Naomi leaned on the main control panel and furrowed her eyebrows in thought; "Well, I suppose now is as good a time as any to finally start bolstering our ranks. We won't get very far with only three people."

Naomi then turned to Liquid; "So, how should we go about that?"

Liquid put a hand to his chin in thought for a few moments before his typical smug smirk graced his face; "I think I have an idea for our first stop."

**1. And there you have it. I couldn't muster a more climactic chapter because, first of all, recovering from having my wisdom teeth removed has kind of sapped most of my motivation to do, well… anything; second of all, I couldn't really think of anything more than this to wrap up the arc. I mean, we already had our climactic 'final boss' fight, and I wasn't about to automatically move on to the next arc! SO, THIS IS WHAT YOU GET. I have mixed feelings about it, but you can hate it if you want.**


	14. Chapter 13: Zanzibarland

_LAST TIME, we ended off the MGS2 arc of this story quite disappointingly, and disappointingly enough that I won't be gracing you with a recap. SO, NOW WE'RE ON TO THE NEXT ARC, AND IT'S GONNA BE LONG AS SHIT WITH OCs _EVERYWHERE_. So, if you hate that kind of thing, then I'd recommend one of two things: If you're a jerk, leave while you have the chance to escape what you hate, and if you're not a jerk, watch with caution and hope I can convince you not to hate that kind of thing. The side-story I spoke of earlier will begin either parallel to the next chapter or in three chapters time. Time for disclaimers: I don't own anything, except for this story, all changes in canon character design brought about by the story, all OCs, the laptop I'm writing this on, the bed I'm sitting on as I'm writing this, and the toast I ate before writing this chapter. Also, I don't own the Resident Evil series, which is currently distracting the hell out of me. Without any further ado, let us roll._

_**-Zanzibarland-**_

Liquid smiled to himself from the cockpit of the helicopter; having to do the flying himself because it was convenient, going on a mission to a remote country for a very risky reason, it almost felt like old times again. The sound of Regina fiddling with her butterfly knife from the copilot's seat and the view of the Zanzibar Fortress swamp as they flew over them kind of ruined the magic, though.

"Are we there yet?" Regina asked for what Liquid was certain was the four-hundredth-and-ninth time. Liquid frowned rubbed his temple, keeping a hand on the controls all the while.

"Would you rather I have us go back to the cliffs and proceed the rest of the way on foot?" Liquid wondered, looking to Regina with a slight glare.

"It'd be more interesting than just flying this whole way with nothin' to do but stare at the same damn swamp for a half-hour," Regina replied with a glare of her own.

Liquid rolled his eyes; "Well wer'e going to be having a change of scenery soon, if it helps. We're coming up on the Nariko Desert, it's not much farther from there."

Regina smirked and ceased her knife-fiddling; "Ah, right, the Nariko Desert. With the infamous… what's it called again? 'Nariko Singing Sand'? The stuff that _squeaks _when you step on it?"

Liquid pressed his mouth into a tight line; "_Yes_, the sand that squeaks."

Regina let out a snicker, and Liquid just frowned deeper; "_Seriously_, what was your old man _on _when he made that decision?"

"I don't _know _what he was on so could you _please _stop bringing it up-"

"And he had a blind guy guarding his electric fence? Pfffft, what in the world was he thinking?"

"I'm seriously regretting taking those old FOXHOUND mission reports along with me-"

"And that's not even getting into the Poisonous Zanzibar Hamsters! I mean, _damn_, B-Boss went off his rocker in his old age, am I right or _what_-"

"REGINA!" Liquid shouted, face almost entirely glowing a bright red. "Would you _please _shut up about the stupider points of my father's career?"

Regina was slightly startled by the outburst, but that didn't keep her from smirking; "Aaaaw, you're finally acting like a real son~!"

Liquid quirked an eyebrow as his blush began to fade; "How so?"

"By being embarrassed by your dad doing stupid things," Regina replied with a grin so impressively infuriating the Cheshire Cat would be forced to scowl at her in response. And since said feline wasn't present, Liquid just scowled at her instead. Before Liquid could reply, his Codec chirped obnoxiously in his ear. He answered it and Regina pouted before activating her own Codec and basically initiating a conference call so she wouldn't be kept in the dark.

_"What's your position?" _Naomi asked as her image appeared on the monitor.

_"About a quarter of the way into the Nariko Desert. We should be nearing the helicopter landing pad in a few minutes," _Liquid replied, focusing ahead on the desert once more.

_"Alright, but make sure you can land somewhere else if the helipad is either gone or occupied," _Naomi replied.

Liquid gave a small nod before asking, _"Am I allowed to land on top of other aircrafts?" _

Naomi's Codec image just frowned; _"_No_. We're here for the express reason of trying to get the remaining population _on our side_, they won't want to join the people who land their helicopters on top of _their _helicopters." _

_"I still can't believe there are people _left _here," _Regina remarked both over the Codec and aloud, tossing her knife between her hands.

Liquid nodded; _"People being lead by an ex-FOXHOUNDer, no less. Their entire population is basically a small army if you don't count the war orphans and other children."_

Regina furrowed her eyebrows in thought; _"Hm. Hey, do we have any intel on that ex-FOXHOUNDer?"_

_"Her codename was Archer Bison," _Naomi replied as Liquid spied the- fortuitously empty- helicopter landing pad. _"Liquid joined after she left and I only caught glimpses of her, but Sniper Wolf knew her personally."_

Regina raised a pale eyebrow; _"'Her'? You're saying she's a chick, but she has the codename _Bison_?" _

_"Hey, the codenames weren't always accurate," _Naomi snapped. _"But yes, Archer Bison is female. And her specialty apparently _isn't _archery, though I never figured out what it was. Also, Wolf described her as being 'tougher than a stale piece of jerky'." _

Regina quirked an eyebrow while Liquid smiled wistfully; _"That always _was _her favorite expression~ Well, anyway, we're coming up on the helipad now. We'll report back to you as soon as something interesting happens."_

_"Or if we get bored and feel like bugging you," _Regina added, grinning her infuriating grin. Naomi proved she was the more mature woman in this situation by sticking her tongue out at Regina and signing off without a word. The Canadian woman just snickered as Liquid carefully landed the helicopter; the main hub of Zanzibarland's government- creatively named Tower Building- was just ten yards away, casting a large shadow over the desert at 600-meters high.

Regina shaded her eyes and let out a low whistle as she got out of the helicopter; "I bet you could see the whole damn country from the top a' that bad boy. How much you wanna bet your dad made it that way because he thought that'd make him govern better?" Liquid shot her a glare, and Regina finally got the message to shut the hell up about that topic. Liquid hopped off of the landing pad and onto the sand; it made a resounding squeak under his boots, and Liquid just had to sigh in exasperation. Regina followed suit, but when the sand squeaked under _her_ feet she just snickered again. Liquid walked stiff-leggedly towards the tower, attempting to block out the squeaking and keep his dignity intact, but Regina had something different in mind; she started hopping like a rabbit, giggling like a middle-school student in sex ed every time the sand let out a squeak.

As they went along on their quite silly trek, Liquid pinched his brow and muttered, "Well, at least there aren't any sentries out here." While the Englishman privately wondered what the deal was with that, the duo reached the front doors of the tower and Liquid had to smack Regina on the back of the head to make her stop hopping. They both surveyed the doors with a healthy amount of suspicion.

"How much you wanna bet it's locked?" Regina asked, looking to Liquid with a quirked eyebrow.

Liquid shook his head and replied, "Not much. The only way anyone gets here from outside the fortress is by helicopter, and since they didn't shoot us down the minute we crossed into fortress airspace they must've not suspected us to be any invading force. And let's not pretend that they didn't see us, because we were damn obvious."

"And who's fault is _that_?" Regina wondered, glaring pointedly at Liquid.

Expertly ignoring Regina's statement, Liquid continued, "No, it's probably unlocked. Though it's probably not _unoccupied_."

"So do we break a window somewhere and come in from the side?" Regina asked, turning to Liquid and crossing her arms over her chest.

"Well, we don't want them thinking we're lunatics, so going through the door is the best option," Liquid replied. Regina shrugged at the unorthodox idea, but followed behind as Liquid opened the door… and ducked out of the way with a yelp as a bullet promptly went whistling by Liquid's ear. Liquid's eye widened at both the shot and the line of soldiers just barely a yard away from them.

"Well great, they think we're lunatics for coming in through the front door," Regina grumbled. Liquid shot her a glare before darting forward and ramming into the soldier front and center in the line, knocking him flat on his ass. Liquid had to restrain himself from finishing him off- after all, he wouldn't get these people on his side by killing their men, now would he? The ex-FOUXHOUND operative spun on his heel to face the nearest soldier to him and hit him with a jaw-breakign uppercut before literally throwing him at the other soldiers. Several of them were knocked flat, but the ones that survived immediately opened fire on Liquid. He rolled beneath the bullets and into the nearest soldier's legs, knocking him over and sending him firing into the ceiling. The last soldier standing- at least on _this _side of the room- had his sights trained straight at Liquid, but before he could pull the trigger Regina snuck darted in behind him and smashed the butt of her pistol into the back of his neck.

He fell to the floor and Liquid took that opportunity to look over to the other side of the room. All of the other soldiers had been cleanly and efficiently knocked down, and from the bruises and nosebleeds he was seeing he could surmise that Regina had done it all via pistol-whipping them.

Liquid got to his feet and said, "Let's keep out guard up and try to get to the elevators, more are probably coming." Regina nodded and the two of them made a mad dash for the three elevators on the other side of the room. They only made it halfway when another wave of soldiers came spilling out of the stairwells. The two of them immediately went to cover the other's back and prepared to unleash some more of the proverbial 'whoopass'-

_"Oi! That's _enough_," _a rough, feminine voice snapped over the intercom. The soldiers stopped in their tracks and looked to each other with extremely puzzled expressions. Liquid and Regina shared a similarly puzzled look.

_"I wanted to test them, and since they've passed there's no need for you to keep tryin' to kill them. Simmer the hell down, wontcha," _the woman continued. _"Now, you two. Get on up here so we can talk about why you're here. Take the far right elevator, it's the only one that leads up to the top floor." _The duo looked from the soldiers to each other a few times before they warily made their way to the elevator. The soldiers all watched them with distrustful eyes, and Liquid had to wince; well, _they'd _certainly made a good first impression on them. Regina called the lift, and for the several minutes it took for it to get down there everyone was stuck in an awkward silence.

Liquid whistled a little tune to ease the tension, while Regina turned to a blonde, blue-eyed soldier with a scar going through his left eye and remarked, "Uh, sorry we beat up your friends. To be fair, they shot first."

The blonde soldier just shrugged and replied, "It's cool. Nobody's dead, so there's no reason to be that mad about it." Regina smiled just a bit at how understanding the soldier was before the elevator arrived with a pleasant 'ding!' sound. Liquid very awkwardly walked into the elevator with Regina on his heels, and in seconds the doors had slid closed and they were slowly rising up to the top of the horrendously high building. For a little bit, neither of them said anything; Liquid just hummed along with the elevator music while Regina looked out the one window, surveying the highland immediately to the south.

After a few moments, though, Regina just had to snort and wonder, "I wonder, did your dad pick this elevator music out _himself_?"

"I'm just content that the elevator _works_ after all these years," Liquid replied tersely. Regina immediately smacked him on the arm, and Liquid gave her a 'what was that for'-look.

"Don't jinx it!" Regina hissed. "You already jinxed us by saying they wouldn't think we were lunatics for going through the front door, obviously you've got bad karma all over you from the incident last week."

Liquid quirked an eyebrow and wondered, "Why are you calling it 'the incident'?"

"So that from now on people who don't know what we're talking about when I mention it will be forced to use their imaginations," Regina replied with her typical grin. "It'll totally fuck with their heads, man."

Liquid rolled his eyes; "I swear, you should've been born a nerdy teenage boy." Regina rolled her eyes in turn and decided to just enjoy the elevator music for the time being. The elevator eventually arrived at the very top floor and opened to a nondescript hallway.

_"Before that girl starts trying every door in the hall," _the feminine voice remarked over the intercom, _"The one you're looking for is right across from the elevator."_

"I was _not _going to- oh, damn it you're right," Regina sighed. Liquid chuckled a bit and walked over to said door, opening it when Regina was right next to him…

… And promptly getting kicked in the shin right as he opened it. Liquid's eye widened to twice his size and he immediately gripped his shin, letting out a string of colorful string of curses in all seven languages he knew, while Regina nearly burst out laughing when she got a look at who exactly had kicked him. It was a little girl, probably no younger than five years old with blond hair and dark, almond-shaped eyes. Her hair hung loose and to her shoulders, though she did have a small braid near her face, and the only notable part of her outfit was the oversized black sweatshirt she was wearing. And the girl was scowling as hard as she could at Liquid.

"That's for beating up our guys you big mean idiot!" the little girl snapped, sticking her tongue out at Liquid. Regina had to bite her bottom lip to keep the chuckles from escaping.

Liquid let go of his shin and leaned down to glare pointedly at the little girl; "Listen _missy_, you don't have _any _right to be mad at me for defending myself unless I killed any of those men, and last time I checked I didn't."

"You could've just talked to them and told them why you're here! Haven't you heard of… of…" the little girl looked over her shoulder and called, "Mom, what's the word that starts with 'n' that means talking about stuff?"

"Negotiations, Kiku," that same rough voice from the intercom replied with a slightly amused lilt.

'Kiku' nodded and turned back to Liquid; "Yeah, 'neh-go-shee-ay-shons'! Do you just solve all your problems by hitting them?" Liquid just stared straight ahead at the child with wide eyes while Regina fell to the floor in hysterics.

"Ha, ha- she, sh-she's got you _pegged _Liquid," Regina managed before lapsing back into laughter. Liquid just frowned before standing up and looking to the source of the voice. Near the back of the room, a woman in at least her late thirties was sitting on a rather impressive looking desk. She looked to be of Asian descent, probably Japanese, with long dark hair in a ponytail and sharp dark eyes. She was tall and well-muscled, looking far more masculine than any Japanese woman Liquid had ever seen, and she was covered with bruises, dirt scuffs, and scars. She dressed in a very masculine fashion, sporting a blue wife-beater style shirt, pants from a set of fatigues and combat boots. She looked, to use Wolf's expression, "tougher than a piece of stale jerky".

She smirked and said, "Alright, Kiku, leave 'im alone."

Kiku's shoulders sank and she complained, "But _Mooom-_"

"Don't you 'but Mom' me, missy," the woman interrupted, taking a slightly more authoritative tone, "The grownups gotta negotiate now." Kiku sulked off to the corner, grumbling about how grown-ups _always _had to talk and how _she _never got to talk and all sorts of troubles of her five-year-old life.

The woman shrugged and got up from the desk, she and Liquid meeting in the middle of the room to shake hands; "Sorry about my daughter. She's been around this stuff since she was born, but you know how kids are. Anyway, the name's Rin Yagami, though my codename from my FOXHOUND days is Archer Bison. So, to what do I owe the honor of your presence, Liquid Snake?"

Liquid blinked a few times in shock; "You know who I am?"

'Bison' just grinned; "Hell, I knew who you were the moment a report of an unidentified helicopter flying at a low altitude over the fortress came through. 'S why I told the sentries to clear out of the desert and leave the helicopter pad empty."

Liquid furrowed his eyebrows and remarked, "You can't have possibly known that it was me from just _that_. It could've been anyone, by all means you should've doubled security at the sound of that report."

Bison's grin toned itself down to a smirk; "I think you've overestimated just how many people actually know Zanzibarland is still afloat, let alone that it even exists. We're just a footnote in the history books, Liquid, and only your family has ever given a damn about us. That's how I knew."

"It still doesn't explain why you lessened security outside of your base," Liquid noted.

"I wanted to test how handy you were in a fight, and I wanted to do it somewhere I could see clearly," Bison replied with a shrug. "Looking at you from the window would've just been annoying and hell on my eyes. So, before you can ask another question, how about I ask one of my own? Why'd you come here?"

"Well," Liquid began, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back on his heels, "I've come to seek your aid. My allies and I are seeking to rebuild Outer Heaven, however we're rather short on personnel and supplies. We were looking to recruit your population into our ranks, and if we couldn't do that then at least we could get whatever supplies you could spare. That's the basic gist of it."

Bison frowned just a bit and furrowed her dark eyebrows, stuffing her hands in her pockets as she gave Liquid a once-over with her sharp eyes; "I'd have to consult with some of my generals and the civilian leaders outside the city, but above all that I do have the last word when it comes to whether we stay and cut a deal or go with you. And right now, though parts 'a me are tellin' me to go with you, I'm not so sure."

Liquid quirked an eyebrow and asked, "And why is that?"

Bison shrugged again; "On the one hand, I agree with the cause you're proposing. That was the reason I left with Big Boss, and I haven't been able to sustain that constant warfare dream of his while running Zanzibarland. However, I'm not sure _you _can either."

Liquid's eye widened and he blinked in offense; "And _what_ exactlydo you mean by that?"

"Well, I bet you're probably an alright leader, but," Bison paused to grin like a maniac, "to be perfectly honest, I don't follow anyone who can't beat me in a fight. I saw you down there, and though you're good against mooks, I don't know how you'll stand against _me_."

Liquid stared at her for a few seconds before he smirked; "Is that a _challenge_, Archer Bison?"

"That just depends if you're up to one, Liquid Snake," she answered, her grin getting wider.

Liquid's smirk turned to a grin and he hissed, "Oh, I'm _definitely _up to one."

Bison then looked over Liquid's shoulder to Regina and called, "'Ey, you!"

"My name's Regina-" Regina started, but Bison cut her off with, "Whatever, just help me move the desk, wouldja?" Regina rolled her eyes, but nonetheless moved to help Bison move the desk, nearly tripping over the homemade flamethrower leaning on it and getting snapped at by Bison for it. As Regina and Bison worked to move the desk out of the room, Kiku slunk over to Liquid, who was watching the fiasco bemusedly.

After a few seconds, Kiku muttered, "My mom's gonna beat you up."

Liquid looked down at her and quirked an eyebrow; "Is she now?"

"Yup," Kiku replied with a deft nod. "She once beat up a guy so hard that he cried."

Liquid's eye widened, and after a second of rather stunned silence he remarked, "You sound oddly proud of that…"

"Of course I'm proud! My mom's awesome, and awesome people can beat people up so hard that they cry," Kiku said with a kind of childish glee that was so innocent it was almost creepy. And kind of adorable at the same time. Once Regina and Bison had finally finished moving the desk, Bison strode over and picked up Kiku with a practiced ease.

"_You _are going to wait outside," Bison said in a motherly tone that made Liquid suddenly want to get in contact with his own mother again.

Kiku was very quick to droop and unleash a typical, "But _Moooooom_, I wanna see you beat him up until he cries!"

Bison let out a small chuckle as she carried Kiku to the door; "Now sweetheart… He's not gonna cry. I don't think he's the crying type."

Liquid had to blink a few times to fully process that while Bison turned to Regina; "Hey, could you look after her? Make sure she doesn't touch the flamethrower? She's always trying to do that when she thinks I'm not watching."

Regina's eyes widened, but she agreed anyhow and quickly scurried out the door, closing it behind her and leaving the two ex-FOXHOUNDers alone. The two of them quickly assumed their places at either side of the room, cracking their knuckles and getting into their stances. For the longest time the two of them just stood there, sizing each other up… until Bison shot forward like a bullet from a gun and rammed her fist straight into Liquid's face, sending him skidding back. Liquid skidded to a halt several feet away and rushed at Bison just as she was about to charge at him again, hitting her with an uppercut and a kick to the jaw in quick succession.

The blows were barely anything to the woman, and she shrugged them off quick as lightning before kneeing Liquid in the stomach and tossing him around behind her. She turned to face him, but Bison suddenly found herself having to contend with a black trench coat hitting her square in the face and blinding her. She wrestled it off of her with barely any difficulty, but the minute she did Liquid was inches from delivering a bone-shattering left hook. Bison just barely caught his fist before it connected, but right as she did Liquid kicked her as hard as he could in the stomach. She doubled over, the wind knocked out of her, and Liquid took that moment to smash his knee into her face. She let out a cry of pain, and immediately reeled back before winding up another harrowing punch.

Liquid dodged her punch and swerved beneath her next blow, dodging and moving backwards at the same time to draw her into the center of the room. Bison threw a punch that connected this time, sending Liquid falling to the floor and hitting it so hard it nearly knocked the wind out of him. He didn't stay down long, jumping back to his feet and hitting Bison with a roundhouse kick to the jaw. She shrugged it off like it was nothing and delivered a kick of her own that Liquid just barely ducked under. Liquid used his position to do a sweeping kick, breaking Bison's root and sending her crashing to the ground like a ton of bricks.

Before Bison could jump back up, Liquid quickly grabbed her face and smashed the back of her head into the ground, drawing blood. He got ready to do it again, but he was knocked away by a powerful punch to the stomach. Liquid went staggering to his feet, and when he regained his bearings again he was met with another punch to the face, the blow nearly breaking his nose. Bison grabbed him by the throat and was about to toss him across the room again, but Liquid slammed his foot into her groin, once again making her cry out in pain. Liquid grinned and blessed the day he learned that worked on women before hitting her with a right hook and left hook in quick succession.

Bison collected her bearings again far faster than Liquid expected and retaliated by throwing another punch, but Liquid caught it mid-flight. She gritted her teeth and threw a punch with her left hand, but Liquid caught that one just as smoothly before headbutting her with as much force as he could muster. Bison let out a grunt of pain and staggered backwards, panting and glaring bloody murder at him. They both took a moment to catch their breath, glaring at each other all the while, before simultaneously letting out battle cries and throwing a punch for the other's face. Both connected, and the two of them went reeling backwards. Liquid just barely kept his footing while Bison fell onto her back, letting out another pained grunt.

After a little bit, Bison managed to bring herself up onto her elbows and glare over at Liquid… but then she grinned; "Not bad. Not bad at all, Liquid. You're just like your old man was."

Liquid tried not to frown at Bison's 'compliment' and just helped the woman back to her feet; "So, this means I've won you over?"

"Yep, indeed you have," Bison replied when she regained her balance again. "A'course, I still gotta win everyone _else _over and get them to agree to go along with this."

"Are you sure this place will be alright without you and your soldiers?" Liquid asked.

Bison shrugged and replied, "Like I said, nobody thinks this place is still afloat. Me n' the soldiers just live in the fortress because we don't got anywhere else to go. It also makes the civilians feel safer. But they can take care of themselves if we leave. In a bit I'll have everyone convinced, you gonna stay and watch me talk politics?"

"I'll need to get used to politics sooner or later," Liquid replied with a shrug.

Several hours later, the sun was setting as Regina played around with her knife on the floor of the Outer Heaven helicopter, a dissatisfied scowl on her face. Just a few hours ago a battered and bruised Liquid had told her to go wait in the helicopter while he and Bison dealt with organizing how they'd move everything to the _Suzaku_, and she'd been fine with it at the time. Now, she felt like she did back when she was a kid and had chosen to wait in the car while her parents ran errands. She let out a frustrated groan and put away her knife; when the hell was he gonna get here? She felt compelled to bug him over Codec, but found that it wasn't necessary as she poked her head out of the helicopter. Half-way across the stretch of sand separating the base and the helipad, Liquid, Bison (with her flamethrower slung over her shoulder) and Kiku (who was holding a plastic cage with… _something _in it) were making their way to the helicopter, squeaking all the way.

As they drew closer, Regina noticed several planes and helicopters taking off from several places in the fortress and all moving west. She blinked a few times in surprise. She didn't think Liquid had made _that _much progress…

"Sorry for keeping you waiting," Liquid remarked semi-sheepishly when the three of them reached the helicopter.

"Well, I don't think I've got a right to be pissed since you made some damn good progress," Regina remarked with a smile.

"Right. We oughta get going so we can meet up with that Naomi girl," Bison remarked, climbing into the helicopter. Regina scurried into the copilot seat as Liquid helped Kiku in before he got in as well. Regina quirked an eyebrow at the plastic cage the little girl held; there was a hamster inside, but the hamster looked halfway feral.

"Whaddaya got there, Kiku?" Regina asked, leaning over her chair to get a better look at the hamster.

Kiku beamed and replied, "His name is Chubbs! He's a Poisonous Zanzibar Hamster~!" Regina visibly blanched at the name, and that elicited a bout of snorting laughter from Bison.

"Relax, he's defanged," Bison said with a grin. "The only way he could kill someone would be if someone ate 'im."

"Good thing I don't take after my father then," Liquid muttered as he took off.

Bison grimaced; "_Oh _yeah, I remember that habit of his. When he ate Rat's pet mouse, she nearly killed him. But that barely compares to what Fox nearly did when he ate Naomi's pet gecko."

"He _ate _Naomi's pet gecko?" Regina echoed, eyes wide. "Did anyone _tell _her?"

"Nope," Bison replied, "Fox just told her that he ran away."

Liquid and Regina then resolved _never _to tell Naomi of what they had just learned.


	15. Chapter 14: Burned Revenge

_LAST TIME, Liquid helicopter'd to Zanzibarland, Regina made fun of his dad, they walked on squeaky sand, people shot at people, we met Archer Bison who's manlier than your dad and her adorable daughter, Liquid and Archer Bison beat each other up, I specifically avoided writing about politics, and we helicopter'd out of there while talking about how Big Boss ate EVERYTHING. So, I don't have much to say. Disclaimer time: I don't own anything, except for this story, all changes in canon character design brought about by the story, all OCs, the laptop I'm writing this on, and the chair I'm sitting in. Also, I don't own my school, which seems to be plotting against me getting ANY personal projects done. Without any further ado, let us roll. … Also, I've got a brand new combine harvester and I'll give you the key~_

_**-Burned Revenge-**_

Archer Bison frowned and let out a "hmmmm" as she surveyed the inside of the _Suzaku_. Liquid was just behind her, feeling oddly nervous about what she'd think of the place as the two of them walked to the bridge. Perhaps it was the fact that mere hours ago she'd been a head of state (sort of) or the fact that she was a veteran of FOXHOUND that was making Liquid so concerned with her approval, but regardless of the reason it didn't change that any time Bison frowned just a bit deeper or clicked her tongue and shook her head at some arbitrary thing on the wall, Liquid started to feel his stomach's urgent need to do a somersault straight out of his body, onto the floor and all the way out to New Orleans.

Thankfully, Bison walked fast, so Liquid didn't have to put up with his rebellious internal organs for very long; when they reached the bridge, however, Bison turned on her heel and simply said, "Fourteen."

Liquid looked to Naomi on the lower level of the bridge, who just shrugged, before echoing, "Fourteen?"

"That's the number of security flaws I saw on our way here that an infiltrator could exploit to get in and a prisoner could exploit to get out," the masculine woman explained, crossing her arms over her chest and giving Liquid a look that was playing jump-rope with the line between disapproving and 'what the hell is wrong with you, you idiot'. Liquid just gaped at her, and somewhere further back in the _Suzaku _Bison could hear the sound of something shattering. For a moment, she was convinced it had been Liquid's soul.

"Though, to be fair, it's less your fault and more the fault of the Russians who put this damn thing together," Bison remarked before shaking her head sadly. "Just goes to show, strapping guns on the hull doesn't always make something great." The gaping continued, and once again there was a shattering sound; this time, however, both Liquid _and _Naomi heard it and looked in its direction in puzzlement.

"I'll look into whatever the hell the men are breaking back there," Bison muttered, walking off to investigate. Once she was gone, Liquid was free to fall flat on his face, and Naomi was free to walk up and jab Liquid in the side with her high-heels to see if he hadn't been killed.

"Liquid, come on," Naomi groaned, scowling down at him. "You heard what she said, it's not all _your _fault that this thing has security issues."

"But it's _partially _my fault," Liquid replied, half-muffled by the virtue of being face down on the floor. "I'm partially responsible for _fourteen security flaws_. Fourteen! And that's just terrible."

Naomi rolled her eyes and roughly grabbed Liquid by the arm, pulling him up as he continued, "And I bet I actually _am _responsible for most of them, and she just told me that to sugarcoat it!"

"Liquid, I doubt that she's the type to sugarcoat things," Naomi remarked, glaring up at him. "Why are you so worked up about this, anyhow?"

Liquid frowned back down at her; "Well, Naomi, you may not fully realize it, but this thing is our home. What she just said is like hearing that _you _are partially responsible for your house being easy to rob and _you _are going to be the one to blame when some maniac breaks into your house, kills your wife and children, steals your things then walks politely out the front door!"

Naomi just quirked an eyebrow; "If the _Suzaku _is the house and you're… well, you, who are the wife and kids in this analogy of yours?"

Liquid put a hand to his chin in thought; "Well… I guess you'd be something _like _the wife, though more like the best friend you marry when your wife dies so that your kids who are too young to tell the difference can grow up with both a mother and father. And I guess that leaves Regina and the soldiers as the kids, I don't know."

Naomi just stared at him for a bit before she wondered, "Should I be offended that you only married me to give your kids stability, or honored that you called me your best friend?"

Liquid just blinked before shaking his head and remarking, "Let's just drop it, that metaphor just got _way _too confusing for me to figure out. And I was the one who came up with it the first place, so that's saying something." Naomi let out a small, amused chuckle before walking over to the main computer console on the bridge.

As she brought up a map marking their current location, Naomi asked, "So, where are we heading next? I don't know if it's the fact that I was raised in America or what, but being on the Zanzibarland-Afghanistan border is just making me guilty for some reason."

Liquid put a hand to his chin in thought once more; "Well, it's too soon after the Big Shell incident to go back to America, so we can't begin that undercover operation we were discussing with Regina just yet. However, if we move further into the Middle East I think I _might _be able to get in contact with-" Liquid was promptly distracted by a hand pulling at his coat, and looked down to see Kiku looking up at him. She actually looked rather somber, and Liquid had to resist the urge to hug the sadness out of her. … So he liked kids, what of it?

Liquid immediately turned to her and asked, "What is it, Kiku?"

"Mom told me to come get you… She looks really upset about somethin'," Kiku replied, her grip on Liquid's coat tightening just a bit. Liquid furrowed his eyebrows; this _had _to be something heavy, if it had made someone as tough as Archer Bison upset enough that her own child was worried about her.

Nevertheless, Liquid tried to smile; "Well then, lead me to her." Kiku just nodded deftly before walking back towards the inside of the ship, hand still fisted in Liquid's coat. She ended up leading him down to the cargo holds, stopping several feet away from her mother and letting go of Liquid's coat so that she could stuff her hands in her pockets and nibble nervously on her lower lip. Bison was pacing back and forth with a kind of haste that implied stopping for a moment would kill her, arms crossed over her chest and shoulders stiff. For a brief moment, Liquid noticed an open laptop on top of a stack of weapon crates just behind her- he bit the inside of his lower lip; she was deliberately avoiding letting her eyes wander over to it. Whatever had her so 'upset' (she looked more pissed to Liquid, but Kiku probably knew her mother better than he did) about, it was on that laptop. Bison noticed him right then and stopped in her tracks, turning to him and giving him another once-over, this one tinged with a cold kind of suspicion.

"Before I tell you what's up, I want you to answer one question," Bison said, her voice deceptively even. "And don't bother tryin' to pull the wool over my eyes- I've been on the battlefield for forty years, don't think I don't know when someone's lyin'. Have you ever worked with a man named Andrei Comeaga?"

Liquid raised an eyebrow and put a hand to his chin; "I don't think so. Is this man Romanian? I've never worked in Romania. Who is he?"

Bison paused- probably figuring out whether or not he was lying- before replying, "Yeah, he's Romanian. He runs a small but skilled company of mercs out of Romania called the _Gâşte Sălbatice_."

"Why so interested in whether or not I'm affiliated with him?"

Bison paused again, then gritted her teeth and growled, "Because he just blew up the Tower Building."

Liquid's eye widened; "What?"

Bison beckoned him closer with her head before turning to the laptop and opening some folders; "One of his men was a mole in my army. He was doing something funny with my computer, and when one of the men asked what the hell he was doing the mole started swingin'. That's what all the commotion was earlier. I interrogated him personally, and he'd apparently done some hacking, made sure Comeaga could slip files into my computer without noticing. He sent me _this_."

With that, Bison opened the video file, and Liquid's eye widened yet again; the video showed the burnt and blackened remains of the Tower Building. More than half of the building had been blown off, the remains strewn about the surrounding desert, and a dark cloud of smoke was still billowing up from the top of the still-'intact' portion of the building. After letting this 'shot' of the building sit for a minute or so, whoever was holding the camera moved in closer on the building, obviously walking toward it from the sound of squeaking that followed them as they moved. They let the camera linger on every broken, blackened window, and Bison bit the inside of her lower lip as the cameraman opened the door, let some smoke escape, then went inside.

She abruptly closed the window; "He just shows the inside of the building," she muttered, "Just to show that it's really the Tower Building… Also, he sent this along with the video."

Bison then opened a document file. The document was originally written in Romanian, but it had been translated into English just below- Liquid briefly wondered if this was Bison's work or that of the sender before reading it.

_Dearest Rin- First and foremost, I certainly hope you didn't hurt my mole _too _badly for hacking into your computer. Let's be reasonable, this is the only way you'd accept a message from me. Second of all, let me congratulate you for finally leaving that relic of a country~! I told you following Big Boss would get you nowhere, and Zanzibarland is pretty much nowhere, to be honest. So, don't mind me making sure you'd have no incentive to go back. To be honest, though, I'd been planning on blowing up the building anyway. You just happened to leave before the charges my moles had set several days ago went off. Oh well, the building's gone and that's what matters~ Although, I'm not sure you working with Liquid Snake is much of a step up from you maintaining his father's empire. Oh well, I suppose I'll just have to keep sending in moles until you finally come to your senses. With love, Andrei. _

Bison clenched her hands into fists, her knuckles white; "He's _never_ gone to these extremes before. He could've _killed _us… I know I should be glad that he didn't target one of the cities in the country proper, but…"

Liquid furrowed his eyebrows; "What's your personal history with Comeaga?"

Bison sighed and stuffed her hands in her pockets before answering simply, "He's my ex-husband."

That hit Liquid like a freight train; "What."

Bison cracked a smirk; "It so hard to believe I was married once?"

"No, it's just…"

"Y'thought I was gay?"

"Yes."

"Everyone thinks that."

"Oh."

Bison's smirk fell; "I left Japan when I graduated high school. I wanted to fight, and I knew that as long as I had tits I couldn't. Not in _that _fucking country. After a few years running around as a merc, I ended up in Romania when they were overthrowing their commie leader, and the band of mercs I was with helped one of the revolutionary groups take him down. Comeaga was part of that group. Me and Comeaga, we were kids high on adrenaline when we met. We screwed once in the thick of it, thought it was love and got hitched. When the revolution was over and done with, he joined up with me. We fought all around the world for years until we came face to face with Big Boss himself. He took everyone down, but me and Comeaga were barely able to stand. He liked how we fought, so he suggested we join him. I did, Comeaga didn't. Said Big Boss rubbed him the wrong way or somethin'. We broke off our marriage and I left to be part of FOXHOUND. He's held a grudge against me ever since."

Liquid nodded before asking, "Out of curiosity," he paused to look over his shoulder, and when he saw Bison's daughter was nowhere to be found, he asked, "Is Kiku his child?"

Bison snorted out a laugh; "_Hell _no." The englishman opened his mouth to ask who her father actually _was_, but then snapped it shut; he had a feeling that he was better off not knowing.

Bison's something dangerous lit up in her eyes, and she clenched her hands into fists once again; "I've caught his moles before and stopped them from doing any damage, but this is completely different. I'm _not _going to let him get away with this…" The Japanese woman took a deep breath and let it out, relaxing her hands before looking over to Liquid. The light in her eyes was still there, burning bright and lethal, but she looked much more calm regardless.

"I'll need your help if I'm going to get back at him, but you're the leader here," Bison stated. "If you don't want to help me, then I'll drop it."

A grin stretched across Liquid's face, and he looked to Bison with his own green eye alight; "Bison, you don't seem to realize who you're talking to. I've shaped half of my life around getting revenge- it's only fair that I help you get yours." The veteran FOXHOUNDer's eyebrows shot up for a few seconds before an identical grin cut its way onto her face.

"Then let's go tell those girls of yours to dig up exactly where Comeaga is hiding out."

Finding Comeaga wasn't too difficult of a task; Bison had predicted that he was still running his mercs out of Romania, and they eventually traced him to the seedier districts of Bucharest. His base of operations was surrounded by the headquarters of most of Romania's larger crime syndicates- a fact Naomi used to try and dissuade Liquid from going along with this mission- and was so heavily fortified not even a mouse could sneak its way in without losing some limbs. And this excited the _hell _out of Liquid. Bison was not so enthused- the only reason she gave as to why was that Comeaga 'knew her too goddamn well'.

No, _finding _their adversary wasn't difficult at all. Actually _getting _to his headquarters? Now _that _was a chore. And why wouldn't it be? To get there they had to go straight through Tajikstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan, Georgia, the Black Sea, and a good portion of Romania _just _to get to Bucharest. And they also had to do so without attracting unwanted attention. Which is considerably difficult when you're in a large, amphibious, armored personnel carrier that just happened to have cannons all over the front of it. It took them several weeks, bordering on a month.

When those weeks were up, Liquid and a ground team of Regina and Bison stood just across the street from Comeaga's headquarters in the lowest, sleaziest districts of Bucharest. The place looked just like any other building, and was sandwiched between two similarly innocuous-looking buildings. Liquid grimaced as he squinted in an attempt to see clearer; this part of town was damn dark, and that was _not _a good thing for someone with as little depth perception as he.

"I seriously hope we don't have to blow the place up," Regina remarked, rubbing the back of her neck, "It's right between an outpost of the Sicillian Mob and the headquarters for a rather notorious smuggling ring. I don't want to get them pissed off by accidentally setting their buildings on fire…"

Bison snorted and shifted the flamethrower slung across her shoulders; "There's an easy solution for that. We just _purposefully_ set their buildings on fire."

If Regina had been drinking something, she'd have done a spit take; "How in the world is that a solution?"

"Well, if the plan we worked out for sneaking in there succeeds, we won't have to," Liquid replied, putting a hand to his chin as he examined the building. Yes, he and Bison would be able to get in from the roof with Naomi and Regina both working on hacking into the security systems-

"That plan is probably gonna amount to jack shit since he knows we're here," Bison remarked, sounding _oh so casual _about that. Now it was Liquid's turn to do a drink-less spit take.

Liquid sputtered incoherently for a moment before he exclaimed, "What? He knows we're- How in the hell do _you _know this?"

Bison raised an eyebrow at Liquid's hissyfit, pulled out a cigarette, lit it via a small burst of flame, and proceeded to take a drag; "Like I said, the worst thing about Comeaga was always that he knew me too goddamn well. He knew that the first thing I'd do when I got his message is come after him. 'S why he sent it in the first place."

Liquid bit the inside of his lower lip and muttered a curse; "If that's indeed the case, it must mean he's tightened his security even _further_. Damn it, the plan won't work now-"

"Actually, he probably completely shut it off," Bison noted. Liquid and Regina performed drink-less spit takes in unison.

Now it was Regina who sputtered before hissing, "What? Is he _stupid_?"

"Stupid _and_ theatrical," the Japanese veteran replied simply. "I'm his 'worthy opponent', quote unquote. He won't have his worthy opponent being mangled by the security systems before he can fight them, oh no."

Regina took that moment to grin; "Sounds like someone we know." Liquid shot her a glare that had her dissolving into juvenile giggling.

Liquid just stared ahead; "So… _now _what do we do? My plan is completely moot now…"

Bison grinned wide and hefted her flamethrower to rest at her hip, a small blue flame flickering to life right at the end; "I know _exactly _what we'll do. We'll kick the door down, storm the place, and shoot any mercs dumb enough to go protecting their boss. Sound good?"

Regina's stealth-accustomed-face visibly paled, while Liquid would've swooned if he were the swooning type- no, he just settled for a psychotic smirk; "Good? That sounds _wonderful_~!"

Bison's grin widened enough that it was nearly splitting her face in two; "Let's go." In the blink of an eye, Bison was across the street and kicking in the door; she rushed in without waiting for Liquid and Regina, who caught up to the old soldier just as she was setting a merc ablaze in the middle of the base's sparse 'foyer'. He was a screaming silhouette in a plume of orange heat, and for a moment everything was bathed in orange light- Bison's wicked grin especially. The merc fell to the floor, still screaming as he roasted alive, and Bison turned to Liquid and Regina, the latter of whom trying desperately to hold back the scream bubbling at the bottom of her throat.

"I got some info from him before settin' him on fire," Bison grunted, straight-faced once more. "Comeaga's office is on the second floor, just up the stairs and down the first hallway we find," Bison paused, her eyes flickering over to the nearby staircase, "Judgin' by how loud this bastard's screamin', we're gonna be swarmed by goons sooner than later."

Liquid nodded, his gun unholstered in a flash; "I'll take point. Bison, left flank. Regina, right flank. Let's move." The two women nodded and got into position as Liquid lead the way up the stairs and down the first hallway he came across. Almost immediately the three of them were met with charging mercenaries flooding the hallway; Regina and Liquid immediately looked for cover, but Bison did no such thing. No, she simply let out a war cry and charged right at the soldiers, setting them ablaze as she passed. They dropped like dying fireflies, setting alight all that they touched. Liquid and Regina quickly caught up to Bison once again, and though Liquid was perfectly fine with Bison's methods, Regina had to choke down the urge to mercy-kill all of the flailing, howling soldiers as they slowly roasted alive.

The door to Comeaga's office was only a yard or two away now, so Bison left caution to the wind and charged through the remaining mercenaries, flamethrower nearly blowing back in her face as it set everybody on fire. Liquid and Regina exchanged glances, looking from each other to the parts of the building that were slowly catching on fire.

"How much you wanna bet this place burns down in about ten minutes?" Regina asked. "I'm betting five bucks."

"Seven says it burns down in five," Liquid replied before following Bison into Comeaga's office. Once more, the first thing they saw involved Bison harming someone; the veteran soldier had a rather fey-looking older man (probably about Bison's age) in military fatigues pinned to the back window of the office via her flamethrower. The man was dark-haired, dark-eyed, olive-skinned, and grinning in such a way that everyone in the room wanted to punch him in the face. This had to be Comeaga.

"So nice of you to drop in, my darling Rin," Comeaga remarked coolly, and in response Bison pressed her flamethrower even harder against his throat.

"God _fucking _damn it, Andrei, don't you dare call me that," she growled through gritted teeth. "You lost that right the first time you tried to kill me, bastard, you sure as hell can't use it now."

"Are you _that _angry about what I did-"

"Damn straight I'm angry about what you did! You could've killed us! You could've killed not just my kid but every other one of the kids living there!" Bison shouted, before she narrowed her eyes and hissed, "Now, give me _one reason _that I shouldn't burn you alive right here and now."

Comeaga pretended to think that over before he grinned even wider; "I can think of two, and they're pointed right at you." Bison's eyes widened, and she leapt backwards just as the two mounted turrets on either side of the room opened fire on her. The turrets followed her movement, and with more than a few curses Liquid, Regina and Bison backpedaled out of the room and behind the nearest cover.

"What now? The building's on fire and we all look pretty fucked to me!" Regina shouted, panic clear in her large eyes.

Liquid glared at her to hide the nervous glances he was sparing to the fire engorging the walls; "Calm the hell down, Regina! All we need to do is shoot down those turrets."

"Yeah, well, who's gonna do that? You don't have the depth perception to hit the turrets from this range," Regina snapped.

"And _you_ are freaking out too much," Liquid muttered before sparing Bison a glance. She was already in the process of loading her sidearm.

"I need to get closer," Bison muttered. Immediately she grabbed one of the charred corpses of the mercenaries and threw it into the turrets' line of sight. Both of them locked in on that slight bit of motion and opened fire on the cadaver while Bison ran to an optimal spot and took aim. The turrets' confirmed the corpse 'dead' just a moment too soon, however, and locked on to Bison just as she was about to pull the trigger. Bison let out a curse and fired as she rolled back to cover, but she apparently got a lucky shot- her bullet hit the right turret dead on and took it clean out. The Japanese veteran was right in the blind spot of the left turret, and with a well-placed shot she took that one out as well.

Bison cracked a grin, but it fell as Comeaga called, "Your aim is impressive as ever, dear! I see why they call you '_Archer_ Bison'." The Romanian mercenary captain walked out of his office, smirking like nothing in the world was wrong; "But we're far from finished, darling."

The ex-FOXHOUNDer just barely got into a grounded stance before Comeaga rushed her, and when he was just barely within range Bison lunged at him. She grabbed him and threw him over her head- he landed perfectly and smashed his elbow into the base of her neck. Bison whirled around just in time for Comeaga to smash his fist into her face, but when he pulled his fist back for another blow Bison rammed into the wiry man, pushing them both down the hallway as fire engulfed it. Liquid and Regina went skittering after her in a mixture of enthusiasm and fear.

Bison's momentum sent her and Comeaga tumbling down the stairs, the two of them landing hard on the floor of the foyer. They landed with Comeaga beneath Bison, and when Bison got to her senses she immediately sat up and smashed Comeaga's head against the floor. The mercenary captain grunted in pain and attempted to push Bison off, but she was far stronger than he was; she stood her ground and began punching him in the face over and over again without letting up. She kept at it for nearly a minute before grabbing Comeaga's head in preparation to snap his neck.

However, she made the mistake of pausing to savor the moment, and caught Comeaga smiling serenely up at her…

_He couldn't help but laugh as he bandaged her wound, and for the millionth time she wondered how in the world a boy as handsome and clean-looking as Andrei ended up on the battlefield. _

_"I keep telling you, fighting with every guy who throws something sexist your way is only going to tire you out, Rin," Andrei remarked, fastening her bandage before cleaning the wound on her forearm. _

_"Well, how else are people gonna learn not to fuck with me?" she wondered, cracking a grin his way. _

_He just shook his head; "What _am _I going to do with you, Rin?"_

Bison let go of Comeaga's head and let out a sigh; "… I can't do it. If that's what you wanted, Andrei, then I'm sorry. But… I just can't kill you."

Comeaga's eyes widened a bit in surprise, but he smiled once again; "I suppose I don't know you as well as I thought, Rin…" Regina and Liquid made it down the stairs just then, and as their teammate stood up, Regina blinked a few times but refrained from commenting. Liquid, however, had an entirely different reaction. His eye widened in what looked like horror before his face contorted in fury.

"You're just going to let him go?" Liquid exclaimed, sounding almost indignant.

Bison turned to him with an eyebrow raised; "Yeah, I am. You got a problem with that?"

Liquid sputtered a bit before he shouted, "Of _course _I have a problem with this! You _came _here to kill him, to get revenge, and you're not killing him? What is- I mean- You _have to _kill him! That's the only way this will be settled, right? If you _don't _kill him, you'll spend every free moment you have wondering what the hell kept you back and why some sentimental crap actually mattered to you! He kill- he _could have _killed everyone you care about, why the hell are you letting him off like this?"

Bison stared at Liquid for a while, her expression one of surprise, before she narrowed her eyes and walked over to glare down into Liquid's single eye; "Listen here, _Liquid_. I don't know who you couldn't shoot or why it's eating you up, but just remember that I'm not _you_. I settle my scores how I please. Don't go trying to make _me _pull the trigger on someone just because you couldn't, alright?" Liquid's eye widened, but he very quickly narrowed his eye and looked away with a scowl; he couldn't say anything to that, nothing at all. Bison snorted and turned on her heel, picking Comeaga up roughly by the collar with one hand and creating a trail of fire behind her with her right. Regina and Liquid followed just behind her, Liquid staring at his feet and Regina feeling immensely uncomfortable.

The three members of Outer Heaven walked out the door, and Bison dropped Comeaga right in front of his burning building as it lit up the night. Bison's frustration with Liquid disappeared as she beheld her handiwork, and she casually lit a cigarette on the flames from the building.

Bison turned to Regina and Liquid, her cigarette dangling from her grinning mouth; "Well, I feel metric fucktons better. Let's go back to the _Suzaku_."

Regina let out a heavy sigh of relief, and Liquid just muttered, "Fine." The three soldiers returned home with a fire at their backs and smoke rising into the night sky.

**I am so very sorry for this chapter. It was being so damn difficult with me, and I just couldn't wait to get it finished, and… Well, I hope the next chapter will be better. Thanks for reading.**


	16. Chapter 15: Warriors of the Sun

_LAST TIME, I wrote what was perhaps the worst chapter of this entire story- except for the end. So, I won't grace you with a recap. NO, we're going to bounce back from that and write an even BETTER chapter that's NOT cliché and genuinely enjoyable! So buckle your motherfucking seatbelts, kids, because I am going to take you on a ride that will make you JIZZ YOUR PANTS. … Yes. Before we start, though, I am VERY sorry for how long this took. School is a bitch. I don't own shit, let's get going. _

_**-Warriors of the Sun-**_

"I hate you."

Liquid quirked an eyebrow, smirking infuriatingly at his right hand woman Naomi Hunter (whose scowl looked all the more hilarious because of the headscarf she wore) as they walked down the stiflingly crowded sidewalk; "And just _why _is that, Naomi?"

"Because you can wear a black trench coat- _buttoned__ up_- in _Cairo _in _June_ without passing out!" she snapped, glaring up at Liquid. He just had to laugh right then, earning him a sharp elbow to the side.

Naomi let out a sigh and muttered, "I swear, Islam is ridiculous. _Why_ on _Earth_ would you require people to wear stifling clothing in a place where it's hot _all__ the __time_? My outfit was _not _'immodest'. These people should go to goddamn California if they want to see some _real _immodesty, I swear to God… Sorry, I swear to _Allah_."

Liquid chuckled again; "Stop being such a drama queen. We'll be inside soon, it'll be cooler in there."

"It had _better_ be cooler in there," she growled as the two of them turned down a back street and the traffic around them lessened. "Why couldn't Regina or Bison go with you for this? I'm still busy putting together all the data we got from GW- what was _left _of GW, anyway."

"Because you and I haven't hung out together since before the Tanker Incident," Liquid replied simply with a cheeky grin. Once again, a sharp elbow connected with his ribs, this time with a bit less force. Naomi muttered angrily to herself until she and Liquid came upon the particular skyscraper they were looking for and walked in through the double doors. At that point, Naomi sighed with relief as the air conditioning hit her, just barely resisting the urge to take off her scarf. Just as Liquid was looking around the entirely too clean lobby of the building, a bald man in a suit of inscrutable race noticed the one-eyed soldier and approached the two members of Outer Heaven. Out of instinct, Liquid moved in front of Naomi.

"Liquid Snake? Massri has been expecting you. Come with me," the man said in a low, guarded voice. Liquid nodded brusquely and gestured to Naomi with his head. She nodded, but as she moved to follow the two of them to the elevator Massri's underling stopped her with his arm. Immediately Liquid's eye sharpened and he moved between the two of them.

"Is there a problem with her joining us?" Liquid asked, staring the man down; a ghost of a smirk appeared on his lips as the underling suppressed a shudder.

He shook his head; "I just wished to tell her she could remove her headscarf." Liquid raised an eyebrow and moved out of the way, while Naomi smiled and took off the scarf, shaking her hair out with a smaller sigh before leading the way into the elevator with her usual grace. Liquid and the suited man followed after her, and the man pushed the button for one of the very top floors. The ride was quiet and the air was thick with tension; nobody made eye contact, either staring straight ahead or letting their eyes wander around the elevator's sleek silver interior.

The elevator arrived on a floor full of offices, and the suited man lead them to a large office as far away from the elevator as it could possibly be. Their 'guide' opened the door and went in ahead of the pair, murmuring something to whomever was inside in Arabic before turning back to them and gesturing for them to enter. Liquid went ahead, his stride confident and his smirk back, and Naomi followed behind. The blinds were drawn and the office was not very well lit, but the two members of Outer Heaven could make out the individual sitting at the desk just fine.

Of all the things they'd expected when they received that cryptic email just a few days back, Naomi and Liquid had not expected _this_. Sitting at the desk was a woman, her age impossible to determine given that only her sharp, dark eyes were uncovered. She was covered from head to toe in a burkha made from fine gold silk, the lower half of her face covered by a niqab of the same material. She rested her chin on her left hand, and her posture was as relaxed as could be, but something in her eyes betrayed that she was dead serious.

"Liquid Snake and Naomi Hunter," 'Massri' remarked in flawless, unaccented English. "Please, have a seat. Let me express my gratitude that you decided to come here and talk instead of sending some of your men to blow up the building when you got my correspondence." Neither Naomi nor Liquid sat down.

Liquid looked the Egyptian woman over with an equally piercing gaze before commenting, "Miss Massri, is it? Quite a bland name, no doubt an alias."

A ghost of a smirk appeared in her eyes; "You of all people should know the importance of aliases." Liquid let out a small bark of a chuckle, his smirk still present, and slowly made his way over to Massri's desk. Naomi put a hand to her forehead and began to chew on her bottom lip; she didn't like that look in Liquid's eye. It never meant anything good was about to happen, to either him _or_ whoever was on the receiving end. When Liquid was only a foot away from the desk, he moved faster than anyone could process- in seconds, Liquid was on top of the Egyptian woman, his CQC knife at Massri's throat while he pinned her to the chair. Massri's underling immediately pointed his gun at Liquid, and Naomi retrieved a much smaller gun she'd concealed on her person to point right back at him.

"Tell me right this minute," Liquid growled, "How did you find out where we were? Who gave you that information? Tell me _now_, or so help me I will _make_ you tell me."

Massri quirked an eyebrow; "Liquid Snake, I am, quite frankly, appalled. Nobody _gave_ me this information; I had to dig it up myself. What kind of information broker would I be if I had to be _given_ every piece of information I needed?"

"Well then, let me revise my question: how did you track me down?"

"I've been tracking you and your brother since you both joined the military, and I've nearly memorized your psychological profile. Tracking you is second nature to me. Granted, I did have some difficulties around the time you 'died', but after going through the right channels I found you again."

Liquid stared at the woman like she'd grown a second head; "Why…?"

The smirk never left her eyes; "Let's just say that a friend of mine told me to look after his sons after he no longer could."

The Englishman narrowed his eye and hissed, "Are you _trying_ to provoke me, Miss Massri?"

She rolled her eyes; "Oh, _right_, forgot about your daddy issues-" She bit her tongue as Liquid moved the knife so it was a hair's breadth away from her neck, his glare even more intense.

"Let's cut to the chase," Liquid growled. "Why'd you contact us? What do you want?"

"I'd be happy to tell you if you took this bothersome knife away from my throat," Massri remarked. Reluctantly, Liquid moved away and stood up straight on the other side of her desk, putting the knife away with a frown. Naomi and Massri's underling reluctantly put their guns away, and Naomi stalked up to glare at Liquid; he spared her a sheepish shrug before returning to his serious expression.

"Much better," Massri sighed, sitting up straight and rubbing her throat. "Now, the reason I've called you here is because I do believe I can help you. You're putting together Outer Heaven, and for that you'll need troops, equipment and funds. I can provide you with all three-"

"What do you need us to do?" Naomi asked, crossing her arms over her chest and stepping in front of Liquid, taking charge of the negotiations.

Massri's smirk returned; "You're a sharp one."

"No, you're just being unbearably predictable," Naomi replied, flipping her ponytail over her shoulder and smirking. Massri's own smirk fell, and she fixed her sharp eyes directly on Naomi's dark brown orbs. She didn't flinch.

Massri closed her eyes and said, "I'd like you to track down and destroy the Warriors of the Sun." Liquid and Naomi shared a confused look, which prompted Massri to explain further; "They're an independent terrorist cell working out of a base in the desert. FOXHOUND has had dealings with them in the past, taking out one of their outposts to rescue members of Dead Cell. Their leader is a woman named Farrah Abouzeid, and their cause is… strange, to say the least."

"What _is _their cause?" Naomi asked, cocking her head to the side.

Massri rubbed her temple; "Well… It's the complete and utter destruction of Islam."

Naomi and Liquid _both _stared at her like she'd grown two heads this time, and the informant sighed; "I know, it's not the typical cause in this part of the world. You see, Farrah is a devout follower of the ancient Egyptian religion- _yes_, the one where all the gods had animal heads- and is dead set on 'purging the world of the blasphemy that overtook her home, no matter the cost'. I have absolutely no idea what lead her to this, but I know that if she succeeds Cairo will be burnt to the ground and I'll be in fairly hot water without a base of operations. We've butted heads a few times, when I've given information to her enemies, and the last time we met she personally told me she'd reward any of her soldiers who killed me _quite _handsomely. So, what do you say? Do we have a deal?" Liquid and Naomi looked to each other, then after a moment looked back to Massri.

"We'll do it," Liquid replied, "But if you go back on your word-"

Massri's smirk returned; "You think the worst of me, Liquid Snake. People in my line of work aren't _always_ without some sort of honor. I'll send you the coordinates of their headquarters, and you're free to deal with the rest how you see fit." Naomi gave her a curt nod, and left the office with Liquid on her heels. Once the two of them were in the elevator, Naomi glared up at Liquid.

"Why do you always _do _that?" Naomi snapped, hands on her hips.

The blonde Englishman quirked an eyebrow; "Always do what?"

"Nearly ruin negotiations by getting violent!" Naomi exclaimed, barely resisting the urge to smack him upside the head.

Liquid glared back at her and shot back, "Naomi, for all we know she could've been working for the Patriots! I wasn't about to let her get away with having information on us! Believe it or not, I did that for your sake as well."

Naomi rubbed her temple and sighed, "Liquid, I _know _you were only trying to protect us, but there are better ways to do that- ways that _don't_ risk all of our lives."

Liquid looked away and snapped, "I haven't found one yet, Naomi." The scientist sighed again, putting her hands in her pockets and retrieving her headscarf. When the elevator hit the ground floor, she had to let out a groan; she'd barely had time to enjoy her time out of the heat! Getting back to the _Suzaku_ didn't take long at all (mostly because it was only a little ways out from the city), and when they returned Regina informed them that another message from Massri had already arrived. Liquid went up to the bridge and opened the message on the main terminal. All it had was a set of coordinates, nothing more; immediately Liquid brought up the map and entered them in. They seemed to indicate an empty section of desert.

Liquid scowled immediately; "I knew it, she set us up-"

"I know it's your personal pastime, Liquid, but for once let's try not to jump into possibly dangerous situations," Naomi remarked coolly.

Liquid glared at her and snapped, "It is _not_ my pastime, Naomi."

Naomi raised an eyebrow and wondered, "Really? _Really_? Is that the case? Because that doesn't sound like the Liquid I know. The Liquid I know sounds like this: 'Bloody hell, guvna! This lady contacted me out of nowhere! _Obviously_ I gotta nearly slit her throat to find out if she's dangerous or not! And after that, I gotta get back to getting-then-not-getting my revenge! _And_ my vengeance! _Revengeance_!'"

Liquid just stared at Naomi, then asked, "Do I really sound that _Australian_ to you, Naomi?"

"Nah, she just sucks at doing a Cockney accent," Regina called from below.

Naomi rolled her eyes and grumbled, "As I was _going _to say, I suggest we scout out the area, and _then _act on whatever we find. Sound good to you?"

Liquid nodded, and Naomi smiled; "Good. Now, let's plot a course."

Several hours later, as the sun set on the desert and the temperature slowly went from blisteringly hot to mind-numbingly cold, a figure in a white cloak came up over a large sand dune to behold those exact coordinates Massri had sent. They squinted their one eye down at the base of the dune- they could just barely make out a small mound of sand between this dune and the next that didn't quite seem natural. He couldn't quite tell, though; from this height it could be anything, and his depth perception was known to trick him these days. Their codec chirped in their ear, and they answered once they confirmed it was a friendly frequency.

_"Do__ you __see__ anything?"_Naomi asked from the _Suzaku_, parked just behind that dune.

"I'm seeing something, but I'm not sure what it is," Liquid replied. "I'm going to go check it out."

_"Be__ careful,"_ Naomi said, and Liquid meticulously made his way down the dune, careful not to fall or slide. When he got to the base, he approached the mound and knelt down beside it. He took off his hood to better inspect it, revealing his tied-back hair, and furrowed his eyebrows. It didn't seem like this sand had collected here with only the wind as an instigator. No, it looked like it had purposely been piled here in a rush, like something was being hidden. Liquid used his hands to move the sand away, and his eye widened when he hit what was hidden beneath. It was an iron trapdoor installed into stone, and it looked fairly worn from being in the desert for… about a decade, as far as Liquid could tell. He couldn't see any kind of locking mechanism on the outside, but at this point he couldn't tell if the lock was inside or not.

"Naomi, I found a trapdoor," Liquid remarked somewhat repetitively.

_"__… __In __the __middle __of __the _desert_?"_Naomi wondered, her codec image as incredulous as it got.

"Yes, and there doesn't appear to be a lock on it," Liquid elaborated, looking over the trapdoor for any signs that he could be wrong and trying to open it just a bit- no surprise, it opened with no trouble whatsoever, and Liquid could see a ladder leading down into the complex below. "I suppose they counted on their 'hidden' location as security enough."

_"I'll send over Regina and Bison as your ground team, but remember to be on your guard once you're in there. Who knows what kind of security they might have inside?" _

"Nothing I can't handle, I'm sure of that," Liquid said with a grin. Naomi signed off, and in several minutes Regina and Bison came down the dune, both in cloaks similar to his. When they were all together, Liquid opened the trap door and the three of them climbed down into the depths of the underground base. Liquid and Bison were fine the entire way down, but Regina had to stare as intensely as she possibly could at the trap door above her- the ladder was about the length of an American football field, and Regina wasn't the fondest of heights. When they reached the bottom, the only way to go was forward down a wide, dank corridor made of old, weathered stone and lit by a few torches every couple yards. The air was stagnant and had that distinct scent of age, and one could read faded hieroglyphics on the tomb walls if they looked hard enough. The three of them thought the corridor too simple to be just a mere corridor, but they proceeded onwards with their guard up.

Regina ran her fingers along the walls as they walked, eyebrows furrowed in thought; "What _is _this place? It's so goddamn _creepy_."

"It looks like a tomb," Bison muttered, "Fitting place for a group who still believe in that corny old religion Egypt had."

Regina snickered and remarked in a hushed voice, "It _is_ hard to be intimidated by people who no doubt worship cats-" Regina's snarky comment turned into a surprised scream when a sharp and shining guillotine that took up almost the entire width of the corridor came falling down from the ceiling, nearly cleaving Liquid in half if he hadn't gone backpedaling straight into Bison at the last second. All three members of Outer Heaven stared at the blade as it slowly rose back into the ceiling, eyes wide as they could go, before looking to each other.

"Booby traps… It's official, we're in an Indiana Jones movie," Regina mumbled, voice shaking and wobbling like a drunk staggering home after a long night out. Bison craned her neck to see the rest of the hallway- she frowned, every yard for the next five yards there were slots in the ceiling just large enough to hold those guillotines.

"Shit, this hallway's packed with 'em," Bison muttered. Regina took a deep breath and walked so she was next to Liquid. The fair-haired Canadian inspected the trap, then screwed her eyes shut and waved her arm as quickly as she could under the guillotine. When she realized her arm hadn't been cut off, she opened her eyes and let out a sigh of relief.

"Okay, they aren't activated by motion sensor. Liquid, did you step on the area below the blade?" Regina asked, turning to her commander.

The Englishman nodded, and Regina smiled; "That must mean they're activated by pressure plate. Ugh, how unoriginal. Traps like this are almost always pressure-plate-traps. The plates probably aren't that long, but they probably stretch from edge to edge of these corridors… Okay, I'm gonna throw something onto the plate, and on the count of three we jump over it as far as we can go without running into the next one. Everyone good with this?"

"This sounds stupid," Bison remarked, and Regina took that as a yes, pulling one of her many spare knives out as a sacrifice. She bid it a silent and tearful farewell, and tossed it right below the guillotine. The blade soared out of the ceiling and sliced the smaller blade clean in half, then slowly began its rise into the ceiling.

Bison lined up with Liquid and Regina, and Regina held up a hand as she carefully watched the blade; "One… Two…"

When the guillotine was almost entirely sheathed in the ceiling, Regina exclaimed, "Three!" They all leapt right on cue and landed unharmed between the last guillotine and the next. Liquid let out a sigh and smiled appreciatively at Regina, while Bison just grinned triumphantly.

Regina stood up to her full height and beamed; "Alright! Now we just gotta do that five more times. Who's got stuff they're willing to sacrifice?" Five guillotines and sacrificed objects later, Liquid, Regina and Bison walked side by side through the corridor, eyes on the floor and walls for any traps. Everything seemed fine for a few yards, but they all spied the same thing on the ground and stopped dead in their tracks; several holes perfectly in line with each other spanned the width of the corridor and completely took up the floor for about five more yards.

Regina sighed and wondered, "Who's willing to bet that if we take another step, spikes are gonna impale us to hell and back?"

Liquid put a hand to his chin and muttered, "A pressure plate wouldn't work with this kind of trap. It has to be motion sensing… Regina, do you have another spare knife?"

"Yeah, but this is my last one," the Canadian huffed, pulling it out of her backpack. She threw it with practiced ease, but the second it flew over the holes in the floor sharp wooden spikes shot up to meet it, knocking it off course and sending it clattering to the floor.

Bison grinned wide enough to nearly split her face in two, and let out a harsh barking laugh; "Is that it? Wood? Stand back, guys, I got this." The FOXHOUND veteran pulled down on the trigger on her flamethrower, a large tongue of flame shooting out of the end, and angled the flames so they were going into the holes in the floor. Right on cue, jets of fire spewed out of the holes as the spikes caught on fire- Regina and Liquid both stepped back and covered their noses and mouths, bracing themselves for the corridor to be absolutely filled with smoke.

Bison grinned even wider and pressed down harder on the trigger, the fire spreading through the floor and sending up jets of fire all over the place until, for a moment, the entire floor was one huge block of red-hot flame. When Bison believed everything was sufficiently burned, she took her finger off the trigger and pulled the flamethrower away, smirking her best smirk. The Japanese soldier turned to Liquid and Regina, raising an eyebrow as they covered their mouths and noses from the gigantic cloud of smoke slowly drifting through the corridor.

Bison snorted; "Damn, can't handle a little smoke? You guys are pussies, I've been breathin' this stuff in for forty years now and you don't see _me_ hackin' up a lung."

Liquid's eye widened and shouted a slightly muffled, "How the hell do you not have lung cancer by this point?" Bison rolled her eyes, turning on her heel and continued down the corridor. The only thing that remained of the spikes was a few charred stubs here and there, trying weakly to stab at the intruders but failing miserably. Liquid and Regina glared after Bison, but they followed her anyway, desperate to be as far out of the smoke as they could possibly be.

It was about ten minutes more until Liquid and his ground team were even remotely close to the door; when they first caught sight of it around the corner, Regina grinned so wide it was bound to hurt her face later.

"_Finally_! … I bet they're gonna have an ingenious last-minute trap for us," she sighed, her grin falling.

"Just keep your guard up, Regina," Liquid muttered, walking a few steps ahead of the few women. The minute he said that, though, the walls slid open without warning. The two soldiers- and one spy- immediately brandished their weapons and were ready to jump away from whatever threat jumped out at them. There was a pause for a few minutes… and then more feral, hissing cats than you could shake a stick at came stalking out of the walls, hackles raised and teeth bared. There were even a few kittens in the mix, trying their best to look intimidating.

Everyone lowered their weapons, and after ten seconds Regina threw her hands in the air and simply shouted, "CATS!"

"Why did I see this coming?" Bison wondered before turning her eyes to Liquid; "Liquid, let's just shoot them. They're probably all rabid or somethin'." The Englishman didn't respond; he was too busy staring intently at the cats.

After five seconds, though, Liquid frowned and snapped, "Now stop this nonsense, all of you! Who ever taught you that was the proper way to greet someone?" All of the cats and the two other humans just stared at Liquid, eyes as wide as they could go. And, defying all logic, the cats immediately started purring and rubbing up against the blonde Englishman, who immediately knelt down to their level to pet each and every one of them.

"There there, now _those_ are good kitties," Liquid crooned, sounding stupider than he ever had before, "You all must be absolutely _starving_! I'll need to have a word with Farrah about your treatment…"

"This is retarded," Regina deadpanned. Bison just sighed and lit a cigarette- she was too old for this shit.

After gratuitous amounts of petting and crooning, Liquid stood up from the herd of cats and said, "Now, all of you go back to… wherever it is you were hanging out before. I have some work to do." The cats filed back into the walls, more obedient than cats had any right to be. Liquid looked over his shoulder to see his perplexed and somewhat ashamed comrades behind him.

"What? Is there something _wrong _with being good with cats?" Liquid wondered with a frown.

"That didn't make any sense and was stupid," Regina remarked flatly.

"It got rid of the cats, didn't it?" Liquid countered, raising an eyebrow. Regina held up her finger and opened her mouth to speak, but both mouth and finger drooped when she found herself without argument. Liquid just nodded, then turned around to force open the heavy stone door. The ground team was back on alert as they went through the door, weapons at the ready. They found themselves in a large chamber lit by two gigantic torches sitting on raised pillars on either end of the room; the stone in this room was far less worn, and the hieroglyphics seemed as if they were just painted there yesterday. However, the room was fairly empty- all it had was a stone door on each wall leading to unknown destinations, and a balcony looking down on it. That balcony was _far_ from empty.

Standing on the balcony was a petite middle eastern woman with a heart-shaped face and a pert nose; her features were soft, and if she were in anything but brown military fatigues she'd look like someone's favorite aunt. However, her hard, dark eyes lined with kohl made to look like the eye of Horus and her long, unkempt hair kept out of her glaring face by a bandanna (worn in an infuriatingly familiar fashion) smashed that image to bits. What one could see of her chest through the open gap of her uniform was covered in bandages, as were her hands and wrists. An armband around her upper right arm had an emblem of two swords crossing over a sun emblazoned on it, 'Warriors of the Sun' written around it in Arabic. She was flanked by several soldiers, some with their faces covered by balaclavas and some with their faces uncovered.

"You're good," she remarked in a voice too deep and rich for a woman of her stature, "No intruders have gotten past the first corridor before."

Liquid smirked up at her and replied, "Those traps would've felled lesser men, I must say. However, you _really_ must take better care of those cats, Farrah."

Farrah knitted her brows into a frown and muttered, "Well, that confirms that _Massri _sent you. _First_ of all, don't refer to me so familiarly. You shall refer to me as my underlings refer to me- as _Isis_. Second, those cats don't need anyone looking after them. They are guardians and they understand their place."

A smirk then appeared on her face; "I know _exactly _why you're here. Massri sent you to get rid of the only threat to her dominance, right? You're soldiers of fortune through and through."

"You could say that," Liquid remarked, his smirk nearly identical to Farrah- excuse him, _Isis_' smirk; "Planning on blowing us away right here?"

Farrah's smirk widened to a grin both cunning and fierce; "Where would the fun be in that? My men have been _itching_ for a good fight. No, you deserve your fighting chance. Try and make your way to me, mercenaries." In a flash she held up her hand and snapped her fingers; one of her men hit a button on the wall, and the floor slid out from beneath the ground team's feet. They plummeted into the corridor below, and with another press of the button the floor slid back into place, trapping them in the depths of the fortress.

Farrah kept smirking for a second or two, but she turned on her heel to face her soldiers and suddenly had the fury of the gods on her face; "Alright you worthless wastes of space! I want all of you to _destroy_ these worms! I want them _dead_, I want them _killed_ in the most painful way possible! I want to paint the walls with their blood! I want to bathe in their blood _for__ a__ week_! _Do __you__ understand_?" All of the soldiers stared at her for a few moments, eyes wide in terror, while the soldier closest to her- a tall, gaunt man with long hair, hawkish features and a giant scar running diagonally across his face and through one of his eyes- shook his head and put a hand to his forehead.

Once they recovered, the soldiers said in almost perfect unison, "Yes, Isis."

She managed a grin, but this one was entirely fierce; "_Good_." She turned to a female soldier with boyishly short black hair and eyes an almost golden color, then ordered, "Bast, I want you to head them off in the corridor. Make quick work of them."

She grinned, showing off an entire mouth full of sharp teeth; "Ma'am, that is my specialty." She turned on her heel and, in a blur of color, disappeared into the dark beyond the balcony.

The others moved to follow her, but Farrah stopped one in his tracks as she called, "Anubis!" A young man turned around in response; his hair was dark and tousled, and one of his dark eyes was covered by a red cloth tied around his head.

"Yes, Isis?"

Farrah flexed her fingers about and asked in a slightly lower voice, "Tell me. Do you see us destroying these intruders?"

Anubis looked away for a minute, then looked back to Farrah with an inscrutable look in his eye; "Yes."

Farrah's shoulders relaxed and her composure returned; "Good. You may go." Anubis turned and left without a word, leaving Farrah alone on the balcony with the tall soldier at her side.

She turned to him and muttered, "This isn't good, Thoth. Not good at all. Our defenses have been impregnable up until now! Obviously, once we've dealt with the mercenaries, we'll need to tighten security. Hell, we should just collapse that tunnel! There are other ways out, and-" 'Thoth' silenced Farrah by putting a hand on her shoulder, making her tense up then relax all in the span of seconds.

"Farrah, calm down," he murmured. "They simply got lucky. And besides, collapsing that tunnel would risk damaging the rest of the base."

Farrah let out a shuddering breath and intertwined her fingers with his; "You're right, Aashiq. As usual. Come, we'd best get back to work." Farrah strode into the darkness, and Aashiq trailed behind her, light eyes full of something one could only call sadness.

In the lower corridor, Liquid let out a curse under his breath as he got to his feet; the drop hadn't been very long, but hitting the stone floor hurt like a bitch nonetheless. This corridor was pitch black, and the groans from his comrades were the only thing letting Liquid know he wasn't alone.

"Is everyone alright?" Liquid asked, getting to his feet.

Bison groaned and let out a low 'Uh-huh', and Regina replied, "Ungh, yeah, I guess."

"Can't see a fuckin' thing down here…" Bison muttered, pulling the trigger on her flamethrower and producing a small flame; that shed _some _light on the corridor, but only enough to see a few feet around Bison. This at least revealed to them that they were in the middle of a corridor instead of at the very beginning of it.

"Should we split up and check both directions?" Regina wondered, turning to look down the corridor behind them.

Liquid shook his head; "Splitting up would just make us easier for them to pick us off one by one. We'll go forwards together." Bison and Regina exchanged looks before looking back to their commander with a nod and setting off down the corridor. Regina kept a hand on the stone wall and another on her knife, prepared for a fight she just _knew _was coming. You never _were _too far away from a fight when you worked with Liquid. She swallowed and took her hand off the wall to wipe sweat from her brow- being in this tomb was not good for her in the slightest. Just the knowledge that she was underground was making her more claustrophobic by the minute. She couldn't shake the feeling that with the ceiling this close it was bound to collapse on her, and that something was watching her…

She looked over her shoulder, and saw two golden eyes staring back at her. Quick as she could she turned to face them, but a knee slammed into her side faster than she could turn on her heel and sent her crashing to the ground. As she gripped her side and her comrades turned to see what had happened, her knife was gone from her hand in a flash of color.

"Regina!" Liquid exclaimed, running to her side while Bison whirled around in search of their adversary. She appeared right before them, short black hair framing an infuriatingly smug face.

Bast twirled the knife around in her hand and purred, "Thanks for letting me borrow the knife."

Regina just glared up at her and growled, "You fucking kneed me in the appendix you _bitch_. That shit can _burst_." Bast just kept smirking, and her smirk widened to a grin when Bison unleashed a blast of fire right at her. She disappeared once again, and right as Bison started whirling around once again in search of the Egyptian woman she appeared- quite literally- right under Bison's nose. She hit Bison with an uppercut to the jaw, knocking her back and getting Bison loosen her grip on the trigger, for a moment drowning the corridor in blackness. Bison regained her footing and sent yet another burst flame Bast's way; she zipped out of the way and reappeared on Bison's back, knife poised to slit the veteran's throat. And to make her feel that much _more_ uncomfortable, Bast licked the shell of Bison's ear. The Japanese soldier couldn't keep from looking like she was going to be sick.

Bast's smirk disappeared as Liquid grabbed her from behind. Before she could disappear, Liquid wrenched her off of Bison's back and fell backwards, slamming Bast face-first against the stone floor. She let out a shout of pain, but leapt to her feet at the same time as Liquid and bared her teeth with a hiss. Liquid just narrowed his eye and got into a CQC stance. The Egyptian woman shot towards him at a dizzying speed, knife prime to stab him in the stomach, and Liquid moved to disable her…

But she suddenly stopped in her tracks, eyes wide in shock. Her knife floated from her hand, hovered over to Regina and dropped beside her; Regina took the knife as she sat up, but her expression was one of immense confusion. She looked to Liquid, and his face was similarly confused. Bison was just smirking.

Bast gritted her teeth and growled, "Anubis, what are you _doing_?" Anubis walked out from the darkness behind her, a pleasant smile on his face. He shook his head and ran a hand through his tousled hair- simultaneously, Bast lifted off the ground and slammed into the ceiling.

He was almost drowned out by Bast's scream of pain, but Anubis remarked, "I'm _really _sorry about this. Isis is a few cards short of a full deck, y'know, so she doesn't always make the best decisions."

Bast slammed into the left wall, and he continued, "I mean, really! Bast's only good for teleporting and running fast! How did Isis think she'd challenge two FOXHOUND veterans?"

Liquid's eye widened before it narrowed again and he demanded, "How did you know about-?" Bast slammed into the right wall several times in rapid succession, her cries getting weaker as she began to bleed more profusely.

Anubis laughed and cut Liquid off with, "I'll explain that after we fight. But we can't do that here, it's too much of a tight space. And it's not fair having you fight in the dark. Come on, I'll show you a better place to fight." With one last mighty slam against the floor, Bast was set free. She lay limp on the floor, her breathing shallow and weak, and her blood began to form a dark pool around her as it seeped from her wounds. Anubis stepped around her as if she were nothing but garbage, and walked past the soldiers and spy with an absolutely sunny smile on his face. He walked up until he hit a bend in the corridor and knocked several times on a section of hieroglyphs interrupted by a large eye of Horus drawn amongst them. A section of the wall slid away to reveal a much larger room lit by torches on every wall. He turned to the ground team and gestured for them to go through the threshold.

Liquid, Regina and Bison looked to each other, then to Anubis, and back again several times before they hesitantly made their way to the passage. The young soldier nodded, looking _quite_ pleased, and went through ahead of them. When the three members of Outer Heaven entered the room, the door slid shut behind them, and Anubis nodded once again in satisfaction.

"Good! This is a good place to fight! And there's plenty of stuff around here for me to use," he remarked, a stone table and two urns floating into the air and hovering in circles above the young man's head.

While Regina and Bison immediately got in a position to fight, Liquid grimaced and wondered, "Are you going to tell me to put the controller on the floor or something?"

Anubis let out another laugh; "Oh, no. I can't even _do_ that yet, I'm not nearly as skilled as Psycho Mantis is. Let's just get down to business!"

Before any questions could be asked, an urn went flying straight for Liquid; the Englishman rolled out of the way and immediately pulled out his sidearm, firing three times straight at Anubis. He didn't even move to avoid them, and he didn't have to- the rounds stopped in midair, spun around, and went flying at the same speed straight for the ground team. They barely avoided the three shots, all three of them diving to separate corners of the room to evade them. Regina was the first to her feet, eyes sharp and fierce, and she immediately ran as fast as her legs could carry her around to the young soldier's back. The stone table went flying for her, but instead of hitting the deck, she smirked and braced herself. When the moment was right, she leapt over the table and threw her knife straight at Anubis.

The knife grazed Anubis' cheek; he flinched as blood began dripping down his face and let out a grunt of pain, but he looked over his shoulder and gave Regina a wincing smile; "Wow, you're good!" The Canadian spy raised an eyebrow, but her confusion turned to shock as she looked over her shoulder and saw the table coming back for her. She ducked and rolled to avoid it, and Anubis brought it up just in time to block a blast of fire from Bison. Bison gritted her teeth as her fire made contact with the table, but before she could curse she spotted an urn flying right for her out of the corner of her eye. Bison narrowed her eyes in annoyance, and once the urn was within range she kicked it out of the sky like it was nothing.

Anubis' eyes widened in surprise, but he wasn't about to give up. He 'picked up' a stone chair and a stool, replacing the urn as he redirected two more of Liquid's shots back at him. Liquid rolled under those and leapt to his feet, running at Anubis with a fist pulled back in preparation to knock the kid's lights out. Liquid was about a yard away when Anubis noticed him with a panicked look his eye; the young soldier held up his hand, 'lifting' Liquid into the air. Liquid's own eye widened as he was flung across the room and flew towards a wall. Liquid narrowed his eye and landed feet-first against the wall, kicking off of it to land perfectly on the ground and turn back to Anubis.

Regina's knife flew back at her, and she caught it blade first, thanking the lord above she was wearing gloves. Her eyes darted about the room, looking for any object Anubis wasn't already using as an impromptu weapon. Her eyes fell upon a chair stowed away in the corner, and quick as a flash she ran to grab it. When she was about a foot away from it, the chair shot up into the air, but Regina was able to leap and grab the legs before it was out of her reach. Anubis gritted his teeth, telekinetically shaking the chair back and forth to try and loosen Regina's grip, but the Canadian's grip was like iron.

Over on Bison's side, Anubis' focus wavered just long enough for the table to drop. Bison's eyes widened before they narrowed again and she grinned like a maniac, charging forward with a spout of fire jetting out at Anubis. Anubis turned to her just in time and gritted his teeth once more, lifting Bison into the air with a wave of his arm. Bison growled and angled her flamethrower down at the young soldier, but the flame went out and the trigger refused to budge as long as Anubis kept his eye on Bison. Suddenly, his eye widened and he cried out in shock, a boot connecting with the back of his head. Regina had flung herself from the chair, and the minute her boot connected everything Anubis had been holding up clattered to the ground.

Regina fell to the ground with a satisfied grin, and when Anubis was just about to get his bearings he was forcefully turned around by the shoulder and Liquid's fist slammed into his face. Anubis didn't get any time to recover- Liquid hit him with punch after punch rapid fire, right hook after left hook to the face, gut, chest, anywhere he could hit, until an uppercut sent him crashing down onto his back. The ground team surrounded him and pointed their weapons at him, ready to deliver an overly gruesome coup de grâce, when the young soldier held up his hand and said, "Wait."

He smiled that positively sunny smile up at them and continued, "You're all as fantastic in combat as my visions said you'd be. You don't need to kill me, I know when I'm beaten… But, there is one thing I'd like to ask."

Liquid raised an eyebrow and replied, "Ask it."

Anubis sat up and grinned like an idiot, nearly bouncing up and down as he asked, "Can I join Outer Heaven? _Please_?"

All three of the older soldiers recoiled, eyes wide, but before they could ask him how the hell he knew any of this, Anubis rocked back and forth and remarked, "That's a trick question, though. I already know you'll let me join."

Liquid narrowed his eye and snapped, "You're not helping your chances of not being left behind by doing the whole 'pretentious psychic thing' that Mantis used to do, Anubis."

The kid shrunk down a bit with a sheepish grin; "Oh, right. Forgot about that, sorry. And, by the way, could you call me Seti? That's my actual name, y'know."

Regina cocked her head to the side and wondered, "How much of our future have you actually _seen_?"

'Seti' put a hand to his chin and replied, "I _think_ about into the next four years? But I've been seeing your futures since I was about five."

Regina's eyes widened, and she recoiled even more; "So… that means that you know us _way _better than we know you?"

Seti nodded; "I could tell you my whole life story right now if you like-"

Liquid and Bison chose that moment to help the young psychic stand up, Bison remarking, "Save it for the ride home, kid."

Seti's face lit up like a Christmas tree; "This means I'm coming with you, right?"

Everyone nodded in unintentional unison, and Liquid explained, "We could use a psychic like you on our team."

It was everything Seti had to not hug everyone; "Awesome! I promise I'll be useful. I'll show you a shortcut to Farrah, okay?"

Liquid just smiled and, while wondering why Mantis couldn't have been as pleasant as this kid, replied, "Lead the way, Seti."

_*FFIV party-member-get jingle* Seti joined the party~! I like this better than the last chapter, and I hope you guys do as well. ONCE AGAIN, I am so sorry this took so long :C_


	17. Chapter 16: Past the Sun

_I AM THE WORST WRITER ALIVE FOR MAKING YOU WAIT FOR TWO WHOLE YEARS. LAST TIME, Liquid nearly killed a smug information broker, Naomi was all D8 YOU JUST CAN'T GO AROUND KILLIN' PEOPLE, the lady information broker sent them off in search of Farrah Abouzeid (a crazy lady TERRORIST), the gang went through some Indiana Jones-style booby traps (one of which was CAAAAAAATS), Farrah showed up and acted like Professor Ratigan from the Great Mouse Detective, her right-hand-dude Thoth AKA Aashiq was all D8 about that, Liquid and his bros nearly had a serious fight with Egyptian Catwoman but instead had a fight with a more cheerful Psycho Mantis AKA Anubis AKA Seti, Seti joined the party, and my favorite reviewer decided to do what my not-so-favorite-reviewers did around the tail-end of my last big story and go 8D SO WHEN'S SNAKE SHOWING UP HUH HUH WHEN ARE WE GONNA SEE OCELOT AGAIN HUH HUH. Guys, word of advice here: _don't do that_. Don't ask me when something's going to happen, just let me write my stupid little story. And it's stupid because I'm stupid, and I don't own anything, and everything in it is stupid, and it's silly. SO LET'S GOOOOOOOOOO._

_THOUGH I CAN'T LET YOU GO JUST YET. As you probably know, Metal Gear Rising Revenge with a Vengeance Revengeance is out, Phantom Pains has been announced, as has Ground Zeroes. I will not being applying the changes to the continuity made by those games/movie (I think) to this story. In this story, any games made after Peace Walker are not canon, unless Phantom Pains does something absolutely awesome that I have to retcon into being canon in this AU due to how amazing it was. Since let's face it given my update schedule Phantom Pains will probably come out before this fic is done. … Though given my feelings towards MGRR, I _might _do something with that game once this fic is over. _

_**-Past the Sun-**_

Seti had a spring in his step as he walked over to the far wall, searching for a moment or two before he found the seam of a stone door. Seti tried and failed to push the door out of the way manually; all he succeeded in doing was making his arms ache. With a scowl and a grunt, Seti squarely faced the door and knocked it away with a burst of telekinetic force. It revealed a narrow passageway leading further into the base, the hieroglyphics nearly worn away and sand-colored stone fading into pitch darkness.

He turned to the trio with a smile on his face again; "This passageway's a straight shot to where we go up against Farrah. It's probably the safest way there."

Liquid furrowed his eyebrows, and as he walked over to inspect the narrow corridor, he asked, "Do you know what we should expect when we get to the end of this corridor?"

Seti put a hand to his chin; "Well there's a smaller room before the big one Farrah's in, and I think we meet with her right hand man Thoth out there. He's not like me or Bast or any of the others, all he's got is a handgun. He's not that bad, we can take him out easy."

Liquid frowned; "Never underestimate even a lone soldier, Seti. Sometimes one man makes all the difference…"

"Oh, like Snake! Right, I get it," Seti chirped. That remark earned Seti a dirty look from Regina and Liquid's shoulders tensing up for a second or two.

The Englishman smiled tightly over his shoulder at Seti; "Yes. Exactly like Snake."

Seti cocked his head to the side, but waved for everyone to follow him into the passage. The four of them fell into single file with Seti in the lead and Bison taking up the rear, walking in relative silence. True to Seti's word, the corridor was a straight path; it went for about ten meters before they hit a wall with a thin seam of light outlining a door. Regina and Bison drew their weapons and tensed up for the fight most definitely waiting for them on the other side.

Liquid drew his sidearm and whispered, "Is there any way you can check for sure who's on the other side, Seti?"

Seti grimaced over his shoulder; "Sadly, no. I can't read minds," He paused as he turned back to the door, then grinned wide; "But if someone _is _on the other side, I can give them one hell of a shock."

He threw out his hand towards the door and let out a psychokinetic blast. The wave of pure force was strong enough to make everyone but Seti lose their balance as it surged forward and struck the door, thrusting it forward into the room beyond. The door hurtled straight into Farrah's left side (knocking her to the floor and ruining her dramatic positioning next to the stairs) and grazed Thoth, ultimately smashing into the back wall and falling into six chunks of stone. Seti laughed and advanced into the large, surprisingly well lit room, the others following him with the beginnings of grins on their faces.

Seti stopped in the center of the room and asked, "I'm just curious, did you even consider for a second that I might lie to you about us 'destroying these intruders'?"

Farrah wobbled to her feet and glared across the room; "Kill them NOW, Thoth!" Thoth had already trained his pistol on them and emptied the entire clip before she'd gotten to her feet. Bison, Regina and Liquid dove out of the way, but Seti stood perfectly still and caught the bullets in midair. He held them for a taunting second before turning them around and sending them screaming back at Thoth. They tore through his arms and legs, grazing his face and torso but not hitting him anywhere fatal. The impact knocked him off balance, but as he went falling to the floor Seti narrowed his eyes and 'caught' Thoth. He flung Farrah's right hand into the stairs at the back of the room, Thoth landing with a grunted curse.

Liquid grinned as he got up; "Oh, I have so _missed _working with a psychic."

Farrah shouted into the stairwell as Thoth tried to get to his feet; "Don't just sit there! Kill them!"

"It's not worth it, Aashiq," Seti called. "She told you that psychics get stronger the more negative emotion they feel, right? Well, she's wrong. It's just emotion in general. And right now, I am _really_ fucking happy. I'd run if I were you." Thoth hesitated, seemingly holding his breath, then looked to Farrah.

She glared ahead at Seti; "Go."

He took in a sharp breath and scrambled to his feet; "I'm not leaving you, Farrah!"

Farrah's nails dug into the stone wall; "_Go! _You'll die if you stay here. Just get out, damn it!"

Thoth swallowed hard and whispered, "Please, be careful," before limping up into the darkness.

Farrah's lips pulled upwards into a grin; "We're all going to die if we stay down here…"

The psychic started before slitting his eye in a glower; "What did you do?"

A cackle clawed its way out of Farrah's throat, the woman rasping as she dragged herself to her full height, "I've rigged this place to blow. Detonation charges were placed at all the key structural points of the base. This place will sink into the sand and take all of you with it."

Liquid ground out a curse deep in his throat, but before he could bark orders to his subordinates, Farrah cut him off; "Don't waste your breath. I'm not an idiot; I set up those charges thirty-five minutes ago. I'd say you have around ten minutes to get out of here _and_ out of the blast radius."

The Englishman spat out a curse before shouting, "Then we're getting the hell out of dodge! Book it, lads!" He was the first to 'book it', sprinting towards the stairs; Farrah met him halfway. She flicked a knife out of her sleeve and slashed for Liquid's throat, sending him leaping backwards before the singing blade could score him in the jugular.

Farrah pulled her lips back, showing a scar of white teeth; "Oh no you don't. You're dying down here, one way or another." Liquid opened his mouth just in time to hear mighty _THWUMP_. She went crashing down to the floor to reveal Seti behind her, bringing his fist back in and rubbing his sore knuckles.

He gritted his teeth; "Come on. Let's continue to book it, Boss!" Liquid didn't waste another second, trampling Farrah as he dashed towards the stairs. Regina and Bison were already at the stairs with a five-minute head start. Seti was quick on his heels, keeping pace with Liquid until he hit the stairwell, where he came to a dead halt.

From behind him, the psychic heard Farrah shout, "You ungrateful child! I raised you, nurtured your talent, and _this _is how you repay me?!"

Seti whirled around and screamed back, "_Raised_?! _Nurtured_?! You burned my village to the ground and grabbed me out of the ashes! You brought me up in the dark and made me miserable my whole goddamn life! I don't owe you anything!"

Farrah staggered to her feet; "They would've done worse if I'd let you stay with those backwards people! I rescued you, you could've gone on to do great things, but instead you're leaving with these people you just met! You'll be nothing but a weapon-" With a roar and a wave of Seti's hand, Farrah flew up into the ceiling, hitting the stone with a _crack_.

He swept his hand down, throwing Farrah into the floor, shouting over her scream of pain, "_You _were the one who thought of us as weapons!"

He brought his hand back up to smash Farrah back down into the floor two more times; "I _will _do great things! And I don't need _you_!" He brought his hand up one last time only for Liquid to grab his wrist. Farrah fell out of the air, bouncing once before lying completely still on the stone.

"Come on, Seti!" Liquid ordered. "She's as good as dead, let's get out of here!" Seti stopped struggling in Liquid's grip to stare at Farrah for a moment. He took a deep breath, and nodded. And with a blink of his eyes, Seti knocked them both halfway up the stairs with a burst of psychic force. They flew just past Regina and Bison and nearly rolled back down the stairs when they hit the stone. Liquid was quick to recover, grabbing Seti's arm again to pull the boy to his feet.

As he gained his balance, Seti gasped, "We don't have time to keep running up these stairs. Brace yourselves!" Seti really didn't give them time to brace for impact, wildly flinging his arm forward and blasting all four of them up the stairs. They tumbled, rolled, and even bounced up to the top of the stairs, Regina and Bison hitting the walls while Liquid rolled forehead first into a ladder-rung and Seti rolled into him.

The four of them wobbled to their feet, their eyes following the ladder up the wall. It was almost dizzyingly high with a hatch at the top, some brightness leaking through the seams. Seti put his hand to his forehead; the hatch rattled violently before bursting open, early evening light pouring into the crypt.

"Let's get climbing before the kid has any more bright ideas about throwing us around!" Regina shrieked, leaping onto the ladder and scrambling upwards into the light. Liquid and Seti were hot on her tail with Bison bringing up the rear. They clawed their way up, out, and into the desert, hitting the surface running and kicking up sand as they frantically raced away from the hatch.

"Why are we still running?" Seti called, "We're out of the base! Aren't we safe now?"

"Safe? Not even fucking close!" Bison barked, "You ever been an explosion, kid?! Those things are loud and _big_! We won't be safe until we're as far as we can ge-!"

The ground rocked and a great roar thundered through the desert. Liquid, Seti and Regina lost their footing, and Bison stayed on her feet just long enough to whirl around and see the wall of sand crashing towards them on a wave of pressure.

"STAY DOWN!" She screamed, leaping onto Liquid and Seti. Regina skittered over, just managing to get under the safety of Liquid's cloak before the sand and force hit them all. The four of them huddled tightly together as the tide of sand surged over them. The grit of the sand clawed at Bison's back, but she kept the three younger ones beneath her with her eyes and mouth shut tight. Liquid clung to Regina and Seti, shielding them under his cloak and gritting his teeth against the crushing strength of the tempest. The howling rush of sand and shrapnel passed them, dissolving into the desert air. The four didn't dare to move until all they could hear was the whistling wind.

As they untangled themselves and got to their feet, Liquid asked, "Is everyone alright?"

Bison winced as she rolled her left shoulder, but grunted regardless, "I'm scratched up, but I'll live."

Regina shook the sand out of her hair and dug some out of her ears; "We're fine too, Chief. Just sandy as fuck." Seti spit out a mouthful of sand.

Liquid nodded to them, smiling for a brief moment before looking over his shoulder. His eye shot open wide. Dusty stones covered in hieroglyphics jutted out of the sand at the bottom of a gigantic crater; it perhaps measured two hundred meters from edge to edge, and two meters deep from the rim downward. And with the wind sloughing more sand into the pit as they stood there, it wouldn't be long before the crater would fill completely with sand. Liquid let out a low whistle.

"Well, if she didn't get crushed by the stones, she _definitely _got smothered by the sand," the Englishman remarked, grinning over his shoulder. Seti stared at the crater in silence, chewing on his lower lip.

Liquid furrowed his eyebrows as he closed the distance between himself and the young psychic; "Something the matter?"

Seti frowned as he replied, "I'm… not sure. It just doesn't… _feel _right, you know?"

Liquid smiled, patting Seti's shoulder; "I understand. Grudges like yours back there don't feel right if they're not solved with your own hands." Behind him, Bison narrowed her eyes at the back of her commander's head. The Englishman looked over his shoulder just in time to see her glare.

"Well, dead is dead," He chuckled, giving Seti's shoulder a squeeze, "It'll sit right with you in a month or two." Seti raised an eyebrow, but slowly let a smile stretch across his face with a small nod.

Regina took her hand away from her ear as she called, "Alright, Naomi's coming from where we last parked before coming out here to pick us up, but I say we should meet her halfway. What do you guys think?"

Liquid grinned, answering, "Well, the temperature's still reasonable, and it sure as hell beats waiting around here for an hour. Let's head for home!" With some nods and maybe an "alright", the foursome set out to meet the _Suzaku_ in the desert. Seti jogged past Regina and Bison to walk beside Liquid, putting a concentrated effort into keeping pace with the older Englishman.

"Can I ask you something, Liquid?" the psychic asked, eye focused on his foot as he wrung his hands.

Liquid cocked his head to the side with a bemused smirk; "Ask away, Seti."

Seti bit his lip and took a deep breath; "If you go into Cairo again while you're here, can I go with you? I-it's just I've heard about it and almost seen it sometimes but never _been _there- I mean I've just been out here in the desert forever and never really been in a _city _and-"

Liquid held up his hand to silence the boy, still smiling; "I get it, Seti. In a few days we'll be stopping in Cairo one last time before we leave; I'll see if it's in the cards for you to come along."

§ § §

Massri's fingers danced along the keyboard, eyes flickering back and forth with her typing. Naomi, Liquid, and Seti's eyes struggled to keep up as she sped through the process and finished it off with the resounding _click _of pointer finger hitting 'enter' key. She leaned back in her chair and looked up to the trio, her dark eyes crinkling at the corners and betraying the smile behind her gilded veil.

"And it's done," she declared, "The funds have been transferred to Outer Heaven's secure account, and I made _sure _to take every precaution and winding financial back road to make sure the transaction won't be traced."

Naomi furrowed her eyebrows; "Are you sure? That was… really quick."

Massri arched an eyebrow; "Really? You thought that was _quick_? How long does it take _you _to do this kind of thing?" Massri leaned towards Liquid and stage-whispered, "I think you might want to look into replacing her." Liquid just glared back down at her.

The Egyptian woman leaned back again with a shrug; "Well, that aside, the personnel and weapons I promised you will be coming at the same time. The soldiers worked for a PMC I own, and they got their transfer orders several days ago. They'll be expecting to hear from you in a few hours. I sent you the contact information necessary to make further arrangements."

"Wait, when did you do that?" Naomi asked, squinting at Massri.

"Just now," the Egyptian woman replied, "Why do you think I took as long as I did?"

Naomi scowled; "Okay, now you're just mocking me."

Massri's eyes sparkled; "What made you think I wasn't mocking you already?" Naomi bit her bottom lip and took a deep breath while Seti had to restrain himself from chuckling and making the situation worse for one Naomi Hunter.

"So, that's that," the information broker stated. "Anything else you need from me before you go?"

"Actually," Liquid replied, "I have a question for you."

"I'm in the business of answering questions," Massri drawled, leaning back in her chair again. "Ask it; I'll see what it'll cost you for an answer."

Liquid rolled his eye; "Right. Well, you've been tracking my brother and I for almost twenty years. You've done business with my father, and you described him as a friend… How old _are _you, Miz Massri?"

The Egyptian woman was silent for a moment or two, then she closed her eyes and chuckled; "Now _that _is the one piece of information I could never sell, Liquid."

Naomi gently jabbed her elbow into Liquid's ribs with a smirk; "Shame on you. Don't you know not to ask a lady her age?"

Liquid rolled his eye once more, this time with a smirk; "Then I suppose that's that. We'll be off then," Liquid turned to Seti, who was absently staring out the window, "Come on, Seti. Let's go."

Seti flinched, blinking rapidly and shaking his head before he turned to Liquid with a wide eye; "Yeah, we need to get out of here _now_. And, like, not just us," Seti pointed over at Massri with his thumb; "Her, too." Everyone furrowed or raised an eyebrow, looking to each other in confusion.

Liquid blinked and shook his head before he wondered, "What? Why-" The twentieth floor of the building behind them burst into flames. A wave of sound and force shattered the windows with a deafening roar. Everyone ducked to avoid glass, metal and other shrapnel as it flew into the office. Liquid was the first to stand back up again, eye darting around for the cause of the explosion. It fell on a helicopter idling just above the building, a Hind-D; one of the side doors was open wide, a figure standing in it with one hand on the frame and the other holding a recently-fired RPG.

A petite figure with long black hair, tan fatigues, a red bandanna and kohl around her eyes.

"Yeah, uh, that's why," Seti mumbled from the ground. Liquid was too busy staring with one eye open wide to hear him. Massri shot up from the floor, hands immediately racing onto her keyboard and frantically typing.

Liquid threw his hands up in the air and shouted, "Oh _come on_! How is that even possible? She should've _suffocated_ or been _crushed to death _how the _hell _did she survive?!"

Naomi glowered at him as she stood back up; "Okay, _you _of all people are not allowed to ask that question."

Liquid turned to glare back at Naomi; "If she was related to me, then I'd give her a little more credit. But she's _not_, so this-" Massri dashed between the two of them, shocking them back into the situation. Liquid helped Seti off the floor and ran after Massri with Naomi sprinting to keep pace with him.

"This way," Massri called as she ducked into the nearby stairwell, "There's a helicopter on the roof!" The trio bounded up the stairs on Massri's heels.

"Where did Farrah even _get _a helicopter?!" Liquid wondered through gritted teeth as they took the stairs two at a time.

"All our weapons and equipment were kept in outposts," Seti replied, "The only things in the main base were personnel and information!"

"The real question is where a terrorist group as obscure and small-time as the Warriors of the Sun got a _Hind-D_!" Naomi shouted. "FOXHOUND had to rely on _Ocelot _to get theirs, for Christ's sake!" The three of them just barely reached the roof when the whole building shook with another thunderous explosion.

"And _there _goes my office," Massri sighed, "Good thing I sent everything in there to the backup in Giza and wiped that computer."

"What?! _When _did you do _that_?!" Naomi exclaimed.

"Ladies, there isn't _time _for this!" Liquid shouted, running to the helicopter with Seti behind him. Naomi's eyes widened as the roof began to shift under her feet; she grabbed Massri's wrist and raced over to the helicopter, diving in as Liquid took off into the air and the top half of the building caved in, collapsing into the street below. Seti closed the door behind them as Massri and Naomi tried to catch their breath.

"Okay, we're in here now," Naomi panted, "What do we do now?"

"I didn't think that far ahead," Massri grumbled, dusting herself off.

"Well, we need to come up with _something_," Seti shot back, "Because if you hadn't noticed, Farrah's on our tail and this thing doesn't have any weapons to combat a rocket launcher!"

Liquid suddenly spoke up from the cockpit; "If you all would be _quiet _for _just _a moment, I could come up with a _plan_!" Naomi and Massri exchanged a glance and a raised eyebrow, but kept their mouths shut. Seti sat by the door, fidgeting and squirming as he waited on Liquid. The Englishman chewed on the inside of his lower lip as he thought, eye darting around but always keeping a fix on Farrah's helicopter.

After about thirty seconds, Liquid spoke up again; "Alright, I have a plan, but it's risky."

"Aren't they all?" Naomi said with a grin. "What's the plan?"

Liquid smirked just a bit; "Naomi, I need you up here and ready to take the controls when I say. Seti, I need you to open the door and stay in the doorway while I get us in close to them. Be ready to 'catch' any more rockets she fires our way. When we're in close, I'll tell you want to do from there. Massri, you just hold on tight. Got it?" Everyone nodded, Naomi scampering up to the copilot's seat and Seti hefting the door open with a grunt. Massri gripped the opposite door's handle with white knuckles.

"Gonna need depth perception for this," Seti grunted, untying the cloth around his head and tying it around his upper arm. Their helicopter circled around the fallen skyscraper as the Hind-D flew to the other side of the street. Seti and Farrah could see each other eye to eye across the gap, the woman slitting her eyes in a glare the minute she caught sight of the boy. Liquid pulled the helicopter into a hairpin turn, soaring towards the Hind-D. The military helicopter swooped out of the way and around, Farrah reloading the RPG and hauling it onto her shoulder.

"Rocket incoming!" Seti cried. Farrah pulled the trigger. The rocket screamed towards the civilian chopper, and Seti threw his hand out with a panicked cry; the rocket stopped in mid-air, quivering there in the sky as Farrah's eyes shot open wide and Seti gaped at his own feat. He quickly shook the marvel out of his head before glaring at the Hind-D and flicking his wrist. The rocket did a one-eighty degree turn and flew back at the Hind-D. Farrah screamed something to the pilot, the Hind-D speeding up to avoid the shot, but they were only able to keep it from hitting Farrah. The rocket hit the Hind's tail fin, knocking it off course and sending it spinning around in the air.

Liquid grinned wide, flying the chopper in a wide circle around the spinning Hind-D as the enemy helicopter tried desperately to right itself. Liquid worked fast- Hind-D's were resilient crafts, he wouldn't have much time to get into position. He got closer and closer until there were only a couple yards between the two open doors. Liquid vaulted out of the cockpit and swung around to land beside Seti in the doorway. Naomi cursed out loud, scrambling to the controls and quickly righting the helicopter before everyone went sliding out.

"Seti, can you hold the Hind-D in place?" Liquid asked, turning to the young psychic.

Seti's eyes widened; "Wh- Well, yeah, I guess, but it won't be easy."

Liquid nodded; "Good. I need you to hold it just long enough for me to jump in there."

"What?! Are you _insane_?!"

"Yes, I am! Now hold it!"

"A-alright!" Seti gritted his teeth, staring down the enemy chopper. He threw out his hands with a grunt. The rotor blades creaked to a stop, twitching as they tried to spin against the psychic force. Farrah's eyes went even wider, but she took advantage of the pause to grab another rocket and load it into the RPG while Liquid moved to the other side of the civilian chopper. Seti grimaced, the enemy helicopter quivering in the air; a green glow began to build up around the craft as Seti groaned under the effort of keeping it still. Liquid lined himself up just right, took a deep breath, prayed to a God he didn't believe in, then sprinted to the door.

He leapt out into the air.

Faith won the day. Liquid flew right into the Hind-D and landed on his feet, skidding to a halt on the other side of the helicopter. Seti let the helicopter loose with a gasp. Farrah whirled around, her jaw hanging open. Liquid just grinned back at her. She didn't waste time, tearing across the Hind-D and cracking Liquid across the face with the butt of the RPG. He went stumbling back, but recovered quickly, shooting forward to smash his elbow into Farrah's collarbone. With a cry of pain, she fell backwards and let go of the RPG. The rocket launcher flew out of the Hind-D and plummeted towards the ground.

In the civilian chopper, Massri noticed the rocket launcher. She picked up the skirts of her burqa and scrambled to the open door, shouting, "Grab the RPG, Seti!"

Seti's eyes went wide; "What?! Why?"

"Just do it!" Massri growled, glaring at the boy. He scowled at her, but threw out his hand. The rocket launcher stopped in the air, then flew up to hit Massri's chest. She caught it with an '_oof_' and spared Seti another glare before aiming it on her shoulder.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Naomi shouted from the cockpit. "Liquid's in there!"

"Call it insurance," Massri snapped, "If Liquid dies or they start actually _using _the Hind's weapons, we need a strategy." Naomi growled to herself, but kept her mouth shut and continued to fly the helicopter in a wide circle around the Hind-D.

Farrah leapt at Liquid, tackling him to the metal floor of the Hind. Her hands clamped down on his throat, her thumbs pressing down _hard _on his Adam's apple. Liquid clawed at her wrists, trying to pull her off manually, but despite her small stature and skinny arms her hands would _not _budge. So he settled for slamming his feet into her stomach. Farrah gasped as he knocked the wind out of her, her hands coming loose as the small woman went rolling backwards into the wall separating them from the cockpit. The two of them scrambled to their feet, both of them taking a moment to catch their breath.

"I have to know," Liquid said between heavy breaths, "How the _hell _did you survive?"

She cackled, low and breathless; "You can't kill a goddess." Liquid just snorted.

With a roaring battle cry, the two of them charged each other at a dead run. They slammed into each other, Liquid getting his hands on either side of Farrah's head. He was about to twist when she bit his hand, her teeth piercing his glove and drawing blood. Liquid cried out and wrenched his hand out of her mouth, giving Farrah an opening to grab his coat collar. She yanked his head down and head butted him before kicking him in the stomach, sending him stumbling backwards. She closed the distance between them only to meet Liquid's fist head on. He punched her in the jaw, sending her head snapping almost all the way back.

She stumbled back a foot, but Liquid didn't give her an inch, tackling her to the ground. He grabbed her long mane of hair, wrapping it once around his hand to get a good hold before slamming her head against the floor twice. She wrenched and pulled against his grip, thrashing her elbows up into his face and twisting around to slam her knees and feet into him. Liquid reached around to grab her face with his other hand. Realizing what he was about to do, Farrah slammed her head into the metal floor as hard as she could. Liquid felt a few of his fingers break and immediately let go of her with a shouted curse.

Farrah wriggled out from under him and got to her feet; she turned on her heel and grabbed Liquid's arm, hefting him up and dragging him towards the open door. Liquid struggled against her, pulling back with all his might and digging his heels into the floor. She pulled forwards, digging her nails into his arm and stomping on his toes. Liquid let out a mighty grunt as he pulled back, his brute strength winning and sending Farrah flying back with his arm as she held on with all she had. Liquid threw his other fist forward, hitting Farrah straight in the nose when she came in range and breaking it. She released his arm, falling backwards onto her ass and tumbling almost to the open door. Liquid pounced on her, pinning her to the ground with a knee in her stomach.

He grabbed the top and bottom of her head, and paused just long enough to see the look on her face. There was no fear in her eyes, only fury as she clawed at his fingers, attempting to pry his hands away. Liquid gritted his teeth and gave her head a swift twist. Her neck cracked like a whip. Farrah's face froze in that look of delusional rage as her hands went limp and fell to her sides.

Liquid grinned as he growled, "And _that_, ladies and gentlemen, is how you kill a goddess."

Without warning the Hind-D took a sharp turn, sending Liquid and Farrah's corpse sliding out the open door. Liquid yelped in shock, grabbing onto the edge, while Farrah's corpse just fell to the street below. A shot of pain coursed through Liquid's left hand; oh, right. You can't really do a good job of holding on with broken fingers. He let go with his left hand and held on for dear life with his right.

The Hind-D turned towards the civilian chopper, the machine guns swiveling to hone in on the craft. Seti and Naomi's eyes widened, but Massri's narrowed as she looked through the scope and aimed for the cockpit.

"Don't shoot!" Seti cried, "Liquid's hanging off of that thing, do you _want _him to fall to his death?!"

"If you want _us _to survive, we don't have any other options," the Egyptian woman snapped, "So you'd better get ready to catch that thing!" Massri inhaled, bringing the air deep into her lungs. She only had one rocket; this shot had to count. She took one last second to line up the shot, and pulled the trigger. The rocket screamed out of the civilian craft and crashed right into the cockpit of the Hind-D, exploding on impact. The helicopter went nose up, machine guns firing off into the clouds as it cut a path through the air towards the ground. Liquid's eye went wide as his grip failed and he let go.

"_Now! _Catch him now!" Naomi shrieked from the cockpit. Seti threw out both hands with his own shriek of panic. Liquid and the damaged Hind-D paused in the air, but they shook violently as green energy kept building up around them and Seti tried to lower them gently to the ground. Naomi cautiously descended alongside the other helicopter, keeping a close eye on Seti. His hands were shaking, teeth grinding as he desperately tried to keep a grip on Liquid and the helicopter. Blood began to leak from his nose, and Seti had to close one eye to bear with the pain of a blossoming migraine.

They were a foot from the ground when Seti let out an agonized shout. The green energy dissipated into the air, the Hind-D and Liquid falling to the ground unceremoniously. Liquid cursed out loud as he landed flat on his ass- if he bruised his tailbone, that combined with broken fingers would immediately make this day the Worst Day Ever. Naomi landed the civilian helicopter and rushed out of the cockpit to Liquid's side. Massri stayed next to Seti as the boy held his head in his hands and whimpered in pain.

"You alright?" Naomi called as she ran over to Liquid.

Liquid picked himself up with a wince; "Some broken fingers, but other than that I'm good," he looked up to see Seti, "How's he?"

Naomi shook her head; "I have no idea what's wrong with him. He just… freaked out. Did anything like this ever happen to Mantis?"

Liquid shook his head as well, replying, "No, but Mantis was older and more experienced than Seti. Besides, I don't think I saw Mantis ever try to use his telekinesis to lift a _helicopter_." He made his way over to the chopper, kneeling down to Seti's eye level.

"Are you okay?" he asked gently, putting a hand on Seti's shoulder.

Seti looked up and stammered, "I-I'm sorry, I… I've never lifted anything that big before, or for that long, i-it takes a lot of concentration, a-and-"

Liquid smiled, squeezing Seti's shoulder; "It's alright, you did great."

Seti tried to smile back, but it just became a wince; "I-is she really dead?"

"Well, her body's lying just a few yards down the street if you want to go check for yourself," Liquid answered. Seti chuckled, the sound low and harsh as he tried to breathe. Something caught Liquid's eye just then; Seti's exposed left eye. Beneath it were two scars, small and applied with deliberate skill to make his eye look like the Eye of Horus.

The Englishman could only stare at Seti's eye for a moment before he asked, "Did she do this to you?" Seti furrowed his eyebrows, but then realized where Liquid was looking and curled in on himself, hiding his eye under his hair.

"It's a brand," he muttered, voice harsh and hands trembling, "We all have the eye on us. It's to show who we belong to." Liquid didn't say anything. He just untied the red cloth from around Seti's arm and tied it over his eye again.

"You don't belong to anyone," Liquid stated.

The Englishman stood and turned to Massri; "Does this change anything, Miz Massri?"

She smiled behind her veil; "Well, I _could _deduct all the property damage out of what I paid you _and _take just a little extra off for telling me Farrah was dead when she wasn't… But I won't."

Naomi cocked her head to the side; "Why not?"

Massri's eyes shone, her grin showing in them; "Because that was too much _fun_. It's been far too long since I've been on the brink of death; there's nothing quite like it." Liquid smiled and Naomi let out a sigh of relief.

"Get out of here," Massri continued, stepping out of the helicopter with grace and elegance unfitting for someone who just shot down a military chopper, "I'll handle everything here. If you're ever in Giza after this, I'll call you. We'll all get drinks."

As Naomi collected Seti and called the _Suzaku_, Liquid grinned and gave the Egyptian woman a casual salute; "It's a date."

_Well, that probably wasn't worth two years of waiting, but I promise that we'll be out of Egypt after this and won't come back for a while. I'll see you all next time, when we go to Chicago and meet someone new… well, not _that _new…_


End file.
